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Biometric ATMs Not Being Used in U.S.
By JAMES HANNAH, Associated Press Writer
Tue Oct 11, 5:59 PM ET

They walk up to an ATM and press their thumbs on the screen. Out spits the cash. New York? No. Chicago? No. The mountains and jungles of Colombia. It's one of the few places in the world where banks are using fingerprint biometrics, which verify people's identities based on their unique physical characteristics.

Scanning fingerprints or irises to verify an ATM customer's identity has yet to penetrate the U.S. banking market because of concerns about expense and privacy.

Customers must be convinced that the technologies provide more benefit than the card-and-PIN system, which works well, said John Hall, spokesman for the American Bankers Association. The cards also serve functions beyond the ATMs, as debit cards and as advertising for the banks.

"Getting that wallet space is important," said Bill Spence, a biometric expert with Campbell, Calif.-based Recognition Systems Inc.

However, companies that make automated teller machines have found budding markets for the fingerprint technology in South America, where citizens already are accustomed to the use of fingerprints for general identification, such as ID cards they carry.

Diebold Inc. of North Canton, Ohio, has supplied fingerprint-capable ATMs to a bank in Chile that is using them in a pilot project. Last year Dayton, Ohio-based NCR Corp. installed 400 of them in Colombia.

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20051011/ap_on_bi_ge/biometric_atms

[VanIslander]

[ejmlab]

I've seen the biometrics devices on some of Woori Banks ATM's. Does anyone know if they're being used? They didn't offer it to me with my account. Interesting.