Credit cards started out as simple pieces of cardboard. The first “modern” credit card was used by Frank McNamara in 1950 after he forgot his wallet one too many times. Instead, he started using his Diners Club card to pay for his meals and then pay off the balance at the end of the month.
McNamara probably didn't think much about security back then, considering he owned one of three credit cards in existence. Credit card fraud probably wasn't a new idea in the minds of thieves either.
Fast forward 70 years and now more than 190 million US adults have a credit card in their name, according to the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau. 2023 Credit Card Report.
What started as cardboard has evolved a lot, but it also has security issues. As credit card fraud and theft has increased, security features have evolved from simple account signatures to embedding microchips in cards to countless unprecedented AI and machine learning protections.
Verifying your fingerprint before making a transaction is another security option that can completely eliminate physical card fraud.
You may already 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 reach your credit cards? Well, it's already here, especially if you use a digital wallet or virtual card.
If you still use a physical credit card, you can request a biometric card from your bank. But this technology — and even the full use of a physical card — already feels dated. 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 analysis of your biological characteristics to verify your identity. As a form of two-step authentication, biometric security scans your face, fingerprint, or iris to verify that you're, 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 into your favorite apps.
Regardless of the form of biometric lock you use, the device first creates a template for your biometrics, such as a fingerprint, then stores it on the device and matches your scan to the template when you want to access it.
What about biometric credit cards?
Biometric cards may sound futuristic, but they're actually just another step in the long evolution of credit card security features.
The first major advance in card technology came from the Europay, Visa and Mastercard chip, or EMV chip, which gained popularity in the US in the mid-2010s. A gold or silver chip on the face of your card has reduced counterfeit fraud by 76%. according to Visa.
Then contactless payments grew in popularity, and then virtual and digital cards exploding in use in the 2020s. In Mastercard Global Payment Study 202079% of people said they use contactless payments, whether through a digital wallet or tap-to-pay card functionality.
Biometrics is another layer of security that helps ensure that only you can use your credit card.
Some virtual cards and smartphones already use a form of biometric technology, allowing you to use your face or fingerprint to unlock your device or confirm a payment through your digital wallet.
How do biometric cards work?
Similar to the way your biometric data is stored on your iPhone, your biometric information will be stored in a scanner on your physical credit card, rather than in the cloud somewhere in the company's hands. When you go to pay for an item, you place your fingerprint on your card's scanner to authorize the transaction.
If the device is compromised or stolen, there is no way for anyone to access your biometric data. Visa will not be able to access your face or fingerprint scan in the card either.
Visa has been working with biometric technology for decades and is now using biometrics to help digitize payments with Visa Payment Passkey – a digital payment experience that houses all your credit, debit and banking information.
“One of our key tenants for everything we do in biometrics—both Password for paying with Visa and the physical biometric pattern of the card — it's just stored on the individual device,” Mark Nelsen, global head of consumer payments at Visa, told CNET.
Since biometrics are just another form of authentication used in contactless payment, they will work with current contactless card readers.
To speed up credit cards
Biometric technology—even on credit cards—isn't really new.
“I had a biometric card 10 years ago,” Nelsen said. “And I was so proud, because I was using contactless payments when hardly anyone knew what it was.”
But then it wasn't exactly a convenient way to pay. You had to put your finger on the built-in scanner, wait for it to work, then wait for the terminal to light up and confirm your payment.
According to Nelsen, the technology has had several obstacles on the way to mass implementation. If the purpose of these cards was to make payments easier and safer without sacrificing convenience, the technology hasn't kept up.
“Ten years ago, the way they thought this would work was you'd actually have a battery-powered card,” Nelsen said. “You'll put your finger on the sensor and it will unlock the card, and then you can use it.
While they could add a battery to a piece of plastic, it wasn't as cheap as producing a card without fancy technology attached, nor did it fit easily in your wallet or pocket. Today, they found a way to charge the scanner with the card reader, without the need to attach the battery. So why don't we all have a biometric card? They are expensive to produce.
“That's why it took so long to perfect this,” Nelsen said. “It is an expensive technology and therefore the card itself is much more expensive than a traditional card.
Are biometric credit cards more secure than other credit cards?
The thing is, biometric cards solve a problem that isn't nearly as prevalent as it once was: physical credit card fraud. While it still exists (this is your friendly reminder to check the gas station card skimmers) physical fraud is not nearly as common as it was just a few years ago.
Back then, cards used magnetic strips to hold card information and facilitate payments. Card swiping was the main form of payment, but mag strips were relatively easy to counterfeit. However, since the introduction of EMV chip cards, physical card fraud has decreased significantly.
In fact, 93% of fraudulent charges occurred while the card was still in the possession of its rightful owner, according to security.org. This means that bad actors could have obtained your card information without having the actual credit card.
“There are so many other technologies now to really address the problem of a lost or stolen card, so you're left with biometrics as a little bit more of a niche product for someone who might be hyper-security conscious,” Nelsen said.
However, as low as it is, there are those who would like to use this technology.
“I would absolutely love to see it and use it,” said Adam Levin, security expert, author and co-host of the podcast What the Hack with Adam Levin. “From my perspective, there can never be enough arrows in our security quiver.
Should you get a biometric card in 2025?
Technically, biometric credit cards are already here. If you're particularly security-conscious, Nelsen said you can contact your bank to ask about getting a credit card with a fingerprint scanner.
He said Visa has a card with a biometric sensor on it that banks can claim on your behalf. “And if they used it, we would recognize (the transaction). When it comes up in our network and we see the transaction, we will recognize it and process it,” he added.
Mastercard's website says it works too biometric physical card scanners but did not say whether the cards are currently available to the public. Instead, Mastercard said to ask your bank for more information, especially if you're a premium customer.
Biometric card scanners are an “almost solution” that will eliminate the need for a PIN or signature, Dennis Gamiello, executive vice president of identity at Mastercard, told CNET.
Will biometric credit cards be widely available in 2025?
While physical biometric cards may not see widespread adoption rates in the U.S., countries like the U.K. and Canada have different regulations on credit card payments that could increase their use there.
“There are a few markets around the world where you can't actually use your plastic card up to the border,” Nelsen said. “Biometric scanning would allow you to overcome that limit.
For example, Canada has a CA$100 limit on transactions. France, Germany, Spain, Italy and Great Britain have a limit of 50 euros. The US has no national limit on what you can charge with a contactless payment.
While we may not see an influx of biometric cards in the US in the next few years, it is possible that we will see wider adoption in other countries. And if past advances in card technology have taught us anything, the US is usually several years behind what's happening in other markets.
For example, look at contactless payments and EMV chip technology. The first form of contactless payment was introduced in Seoul in 1995but contactless payments didn't hit the US until 2004. EMV chip technology was adopted from Europe in the 90s, but it was not widely adopted in the US until 2015.
If you are interested in getting a biometric card, talk to your bank. In addition to Visa's offerings, other card manufacturers, including Thales and SmartMetricadvertise biometric cards. But you'll need your card issuer to ask for one.
Do biometric cards make sense given the rise of digital payments?
At least for the next few years, we'll still likely have physical cards to carry around in our wallets. While virtual credit cards, digital wallets and Visa Payment Passkey have done much to reduce the need for a physical card, experts don't expect plastic and metal cards to completely disappear in the next year.
Nelsen said he doesn't see physical cards going away for a long time. There are plenty of markets and infrastructure in place around physical cards, so they're not going away anytime soon. However, he acknowledged that Visa is more focused on digital experiences.
“What is the future of cards in general?” – said Nelsen. “It depends on the market and the consumer. I think in general, as more payments go digital, there is no physical plastic card to use. wallets”.