New research undertaken on behalf of Visa shows a growing enthusiasm for biometric authentication among European consumers.

The research was conducted by Populus, which surveyed 14,236 individuals across France, Germany, Italy, Poland, Spain, Sweden, and the UK. Among the major findings: 68 percent of respondents expressed interest in using biometrics for payment authentication, and 73 percent see two-factor authentication incorporating biometrics as a secure form of payment authorization.

Looking to modalities, it appears that the revolution led by Apple’s Touch ID system has made Europeans very comfortable with fingerprint scanning. Eighty-one percent said they see it as the most secure form of biometric scanning, and 73 percent said they’re as comfortable with this authentication mechanism as they are with traditional PINs. Few would prefer to use facial or voice recognition, with only 15 percent of respondents preferring the former and 12 percent preferring the latter.

Tracking with other recent research, the findings help to illustrate the major shift that has occurred in the mass market as consumers have become accustomed to fingerprint scanning on their mobile devices, and as such bodes well for emerging mPayment systems. It also points to an area where e-commerce can improve, with 31 percent of respondents reporting that they have abandoned online purchases over security concerns. With the increasing support for fingerprint authentication via PCs and laptops, that situation could potentially be improved substantially.

(Originally posted on FindBiometrics)