Credit cards began as simple pieces of cardboard. The first “modern” credit card was used by Frank McNamara in 1950 after forgetting his wallet several times. Instead, he started using his Diners Club card to pay for his meals and pay the money back at the end of the month.

McNamara probably didn’t think much about security back then, considering he only had one of three credit cards available. Credit card fraud may not have been the first thought in a thief’s mind.

Fast forward 70 years and now more than 190 million adults in the US have a credit card in their name, according to the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau’s. 2023 credit card report.

What started out as cardboard has changed dramatically, but there are still some safety issues. As fraud and theft of credit cards increased, security features were introduced from simple signatures on receipts to embedding microchips in cards to artificial intelligence and machine learning security.

Verifying your fingerprint before making a transaction is another security measure that can eliminate card fraud.

You may be using biometric technology every day when you unlock your phone or log into your banking app, so how long will it take for this technology to catch up with your credit cards? Well, it already is, especially if you’re using a digital wallet or physical card.

If you still use a credit card, you can request a biometric card from your bank. But this technology – and the use of a physical card together – is already felt. So, do experts predict that 2025 will be the year of biometric cards? Maybe. But not in the way you might think.

What is biometrics?

Biometrics uses an analysis of your natural environment to verify your identity. As a two-factor authentication method, biometric security scans your face, fingerprint or iris to verify that you are, well, you.

This technology is widely used today to verify your identity at airports, hospitals and by various law enforcement agencies. Biometrics also help unlock your mobile phone or laptop and log you into your favorite apps.

No matter what type of lock you’re using, the device first creates a template of your biometric, like your fingerprint, and then stores it on the device and compares it to your template when you need to access it.

What about biometric cards?

Biometric cards may sound like the future, but they are another step in the evolution of credit card security.

The first major advance in card technology came from the Europay, Visa and Mastercard chip, or EMV chip, which became popular in the US in the mid-2010s. A gold or silver chip on the face of your card reduced fraud by 76%, according to the Visa.

Then contactless payments grew in popularity, followed approximately and digital cards use explosion in the 2020s. In Mastercard Global Survey 202079% of people said they use contactless payments, either through a digital wallet or using cards to pay.

Biometrics is another security feature that allows you to use your credit card automatically.

Some virtual cards and mobile phones use biometric technology, allowing you to use your face or fingerprint to unlock your device or authenticate payments through your digital wallet.

How do biometric cards work?

Similar to how your biometrics are stored on your iPhone, your biometric information can be stored inside the scanner on your credit card, not in a cloud somewhere in the hands of a company. When you go to pay for something, you put your finger on the scanner of your card to authorize the transaction.

If the device is tampered with or stolen, there is no way for anyone to access your biometric data. No Visa can link your face or fingerprints inside the card.

Visa has been working with biometric technology for years, and is now using a biometric interface to facilitate payments with Visa Payment Passkey – a digital payment system that stores all of your credit, debit and banking information.

“One of our tenants in everything we’re doing in biometrics – both of them Visa fees it’s a biometric on the card — it’s automatically stored on every device,” Mark Nelsen, Head of Global Consumer Payments at Visa told CNET.

Because biometrics is an alternative authentication method for use with contactless payments, it works with contactless card readers.

Fast delivery of cards

Biometric technology – even for credit cards – is not new.

“I had a biometric card 10 years ago,” Nelsen said. “And I was very proud, because I used the money to pay without anyone knowing what it was.”

But back then, it was not a good way to pay. You had to put your finger on the built-in scanner, wait for this to work, then wait for the terminal to turn on and confirm your payment.

According to Nelsen, the technology has had several obstacles in the way of multitasking. If the purpose of these cards was to make money easily and safely without losing access, the technology is not going well.

“Ten years ago, the way they thought this would work was you’d have a battery-powered card,” Nelsen said. “You put your finger on the sensor and open the card, and then you can use it.”

Although they were able to add a battery to the plastic, it wasn’t as cheap as making a card without the technology included, and it didn’t fit as easily in your wallet or purse. Today, they have found a way to make scanners and card readers, no battery connection required. Why don’t we all have a biometric card? It is expensive to produce.

“That’s why it’s taken so long to get this done,” Nelsen said. “It’s a very expensive technology, so the card itself is much more expensive than a traditional card.”

Are biometric credit cards more secure than other credit cards?

The truth is, biometric cards solve a problem that isn’t as common as it used to be: credit card fraud. Even if it’s still there (this is your friendly reminder to check the gas station card lovers) Physical fraud is not as common as it was a few years ago.

In the past, cards used magnetic strips to hold card information and facilitate payments. Swiping your card was the first way to pay, but mag lines were easy to fake. However, since the introduction of EMV chip cards, physical card fraud has decreased dramatically.

In fact, 93% of fraud cases occurred while the card was still with the rightful owner, according to security.org. This means that bad actors were able to access your credit card information without having a real credit card.

“There are so many other technologies now to deal with the problem of lost or stolen cards, so you’re left with biometrics as a very limited thing for someone who might be security conscious,” Nelsen said.

Even so, there are those who would prefer to use this technology.

“I would love to see it and use it,” said Adam Levin, a security expert, author and co-host of the podcast What the Hack with Adam Levin. “In my opinion, one cannot have enough arrows in our defense quiver.”

Should you get a biometric card in 2025?

Technically, biometric cards are already here. If you’re serious about security, Nelsen said you can contact your bank and ask about getting a credit card with a fingerprint scanner.

He said Visa has a card with a biometric sensor that banks can apply for on your behalf. “And if you use it, we would detect (the activity). When it reaches our network and we see what is happening, we detect it and fix it,” he added.

Mastercard’s website says it is working again biometric scanners on physical cards but he did not say whether the cards are available to the public. Instead, Mastercard said check with your bank for more information, especially if you’re a big customer.

Biometric cards are an “emerging solution” that could eliminate the need for a PIN or signature, Dennis Gamiello, senior vice president of Mastercard, told CNET in an email.

Will biometric credit cards become mainstream in 2025?

While biometric cards may not see much of a boom in the US, countries like the UK and Canada have different credit card payment laws that could increase their use there.

“There are a number of markets around the world where you can’t use your plastic to the limit,” Nelsen said. “Biometric scanning will allow you to bypass that limit.”

For example, Canada has a CA$100 limit on transactions. France, Germany, Spain, Italy and the UK all have a limit of €50. The US does not have any national limits on what you can charge and make contactless payments.

While we may not see widespread adoption of biometric cards in the US in the next few years, it is likely that we will see adoption by more children in other countries. And if advances in credit card technology have taught us anything, it’s that the US is often a few years behind what happens in other markets.

Look for contactless payments with EMV chip technology, for example. The first contactless payment method was founded in Seoul in 1995but contactless payments didn’t happen in the US until 2004. EMV device technology was taken and Europe in the 90s, but was not widely adopted in the US until 2015.

If you want to get a biometric card, talk to your bank. In addition to Visa’s offerings, other card manufacturers, including Thales and SmartMetricannounce biometric cards. But you need your card issuer to apply for one.

Do biometric cards make sense for the rise of digital payments?

Even after these years, we still manage to have two cards that manage our products. Although credit cards, digital wallets and Visa Payment Passkey have done much to reduce the need for credit cards, experts do not expect plastic and metal cards to disappear next year.

Nelsen said he doesn’t see physical cards going away for a long time. There are many markets and infrastructures built around physical cards, so they are not going away anytime soon. However, he acknowledged Visa’s focus on digital transactions.

“What is the future of many cards?” Nelson said. “It depends on the market and consumers. I think that in most cases, as more and more payments are becoming digital, there is no piece of plastic to use. wallets.”