Snippets: Mobile biometric pay

A new study by Juniper Research has found that the number of mobile payments authenticated by biometrics will rise to nearly two billion this year, up from just over 600 million in 2016. The new research, Mobile Payment Security: Biometric Authentication & Tokenisation 2017-2021, found that while Apple Pay had provided the catalyst for initial growth, other leading wallets including Android Pay and Samsung Pay were increasingly offering biometric solutions for authentication. Furthermore, the size of the opportunity has been boosted by the greater availability of fingerprint sensors. According to the new research, around 60 per cent of smartphone models are expected to ship with such sensors this year, with many Chinese vendors incorporating them into mid-range models. The research argued that the key challenge for service providers would be striking the right balance between end-user convenience and solution security.
 
India advantages

Start-ups can exploit a range of attributes and advantages unique to India, says a study by the IBM Institute for Business Value based on a survey done in collaboration with Oxford Economics. More than 76 per cent of executives pointed to India’s economic openness as a major business advantage, while 60 per cent identified its skilled workforce and 57 per cent of the executives said India’s large domestic market provides significant advantages. The IBM study is based on interviews with over 1,300 executives and 22 educational institution leaders to analyse the macro impact of start-ups on economic growth. “We believe start-ups need to focus on societal problems like health care, sanitation, education, transportation, alternate energy management and others, which would help deal with issues that India and the world face. These require investments in deep technology and products,” said Nipun Mehrotra, chief digital officer, IBM India/South Asia.