Technology continues to advance in the world. It has made things easier and more efficient, as well as safer. You have the world at your fingertips, literally! Fingerprints, iris scans, and other unique human identifiers are soon going to be forms of payment. Some mobile technology and financial companies are hoping you’ll give a quick imprint of your finger, scan of your eye, or tap of an armband that links to your heartbeat. Companies like Apple and Samsung have implemented fingerprint-scanning features into their latest smartphones. Iris scanning and fingerprints have also been used for high-level security clearances. Their goal is to replace credit cards and PIN at the touch of your fingerprint. Banks in United Kingdom and Poland are planning on releasing credit cards, online banking features, as well as ATMs, where you will be able to approve payments or withdraw cash by scanning your fingerprint or having your vein read as a form of ID.

This interest has been driven by the ongoing problems with identity theft and credit card fraud. Over the past year, more than 96 million credit card numbers have been stolen from a couple of department stores such as Target and Home Depot. Iris scanning and fingerprint scans are going to be more popular in the near future.