"What If My Face Gets Scanned Without Consent": Understanding Older Adults' Experiences with Biometric Payment

TL;DR

The paper investigates older adults' perceptions and practices around biometric payment in China, addressing a gap in understanding this demographic's interaction with biometric authentication in digital payments. Using semi-structured interviews with 22 older adults (both users and non-users) and inductive thematic analysis, it identifies motivations such as convenience and perceived security, alongside concerns about loss of control, data privacy, and adaptability. It documents protective behaviors (e.g., limiting biometric data disclosure, using private devices, and enabling notifications) and proposes design directions, including lightweight, context-aware cognitive confirmation and improved user guidance to balance usability with security. The study contributes practical insights for making biometric payments more controllable and informative for older adults, with implications for inclusive digital financial services and future research on cross-context risk perceptions and consent mechanisms.

Abstract

Biometric payment, i.e., biometric authentication implemented in digital payment systems, can reduce memory demands and streamline payment for older adults. However, older adults' perceptions and practices regarding biometric payment remain underexplored. We conducted semi-structured interviews with 22 Chinese older adults, including both users and non-users. Participants were motivated to use biometric payment due to convenience and perceived security. However, they also worried about loss of control due to its password-free nature and expressed concerns about biometric data security. Participants also identified desired features for biometric payment, such as lightweight and context-aware cognitive confirmation mechanisms to enhance user control. Based on these findings, we outline recommendations for more controllable and informative digital financial services that better support older adults.

Figures (2)

• Figure 1: Biometric payment process (an example of an older adult using facial recognition at a supermarket self-checkout kiosk). While interfaces vary across devices and biometric methods, the general process includes: (1) payment initiation (e.g., "pay with face"), (2) biometric authentication (e.g., face or fingerprint recognition), (3) user confirmation (though some systems proceed directly to payment after recognition without confirmation), and (4) payment result display.
• Figure 2: Overview of the interview process.