Biometric Fingerprint IDs: The Future of Retail Point of Sale Security

One of today's biggest concerns for retailers is how they can properly secure their retail point of sale systems. Not only do retailers face growing concerns surrounding their customers' sensitive information, but they also must protect their sensitive business information including their costs, sales numbers, profit margins, etc. One dishonest employee or unscrupulous outside hacker can trigger a very large—and very expensive—disaster.

Employees simply scan their thumb or finger anytime the
retail point of sale system asks for a password

Nearly every available retail point of sale system allows retailers to assign a unique password to each cashier. But if even one password is stolen or misused, your retail point of sale system is vulnerable to attack. Once inside your retail software, the intruder could change prices, lower the quantity on hand, delete items, steal your customer list, or take any number of other damaging actions. And if the retail point of sale system was accessed with a stolen or hacked password, finding the responsible party can be almost impossible. These concerns for business safety are spurring POS companies to incorporate biometrics into their retail software and point of sale hardware.

Employee Theft Tops $19B

While it may sound like a sinister plot from a bad sci-fi movie, the harsh reality is that there are dishonest people out there that can seriously damage your retail business. According to numbers released by the National Retail Federation (NRF), nationwide employee theft topped $19B in 2006. The skyrocketing loss of revenue has forced retailers to react, and has lead to an increase of biometrics and other security devices such as closed-circuit TVs. Biometric security is just one more level of defense to thwart the thieves.

How Do Biometric Fingerprint Readers Work?

When an employee logs into the retail point of sale system, he must enter his user ID. But instead of typing his password, he simply scans his thumb or finger on the biometric fingerprint reader. Any time the employee attempts to access a password-protected area of the retail point of sale software, he is required to scan his finger. This increased employee accountability can help protect you from costly damage—whether intentional or accidental—to your data.

Installing and implementing biometrics in your retail business can give you added peace of mind—you'll rest easier knowing that the data you depend on is safe and secure. As biometric technology has improved and more point of sale products have become available, biometrics have become affordable to retailers of all sizes. So whether you're already running a retail point of sale system or you're shopping around, you may want to consider the added security of biometrics.