Banking customers eager to replace passwords with modern authentication methods

However, due to varying comfort levels and willingness to learn new techniques, different generations expressed varying preferences around the best alternative to replace the ubiquitous password. A clear correlation emerged between consumers’ openness to change and their age as iovation surveyed millennials (35%), Gen Xers (26%), Baby Boomers (32%) and seniors (7%).

Each generation expressed a unique preference for a replacement to the easily hacked or forgotten password authentication method:

- Millennials - as the most receptive audience to a new authentication experience, millennials perceived fingerprint biometrics (85%), eye biometrics (76%), and knowledge-based authentication questions (74%) to be the most effective identification methods.

- Generation X - 37 to 52 year olds cited fingerprint biometrics (75%), eye biometrics (70%), and knowledge-based authentication questions (66%) as their top choices for password replacement.

- Baby Boomers - the majority of Boomers believed fingerprint biometrics (76%), eye biometrics (67%) and facial recognition (59%) to be the leading authentication practices in lieu of the typical username/password combo. 

- Seniors - 68% of respondents over the age of 71 were in favour of the fingerprint biometric, while 53% of seniors thought the facial recognition tool was an effective security measure.