The alarm goes off and you unlock your phone with your fingerprint.

Today’s a big day: you and your wife are taking the kids to Disney in Orlando (USA) for the very first time.

Before heading out, you log in to the Social Security website with your ID card and facial recognition to sort out a few things. Soon after, you’re all in the car on the way to the airport. During the drive, you even manage to book a few shows at the theme park, paying for them online. To do this, you open your banking app with face recognition and confirm the transaction biometrically.

Not long before you arrive, your electric car needs a top-up at a charging station, which lets you pay at kiosks using facial recognition. While you’re at it, you also withdraw some cash — literally with your face.

You reach the airport in a rush. Thankfully, you’ve already completed biometric check-in at home, registering your face once again, which means you can use the fast track on arrival. Thanks to this, the whole family checks in your luggage automatically (Self Bag Drop) with facial recognition, clears security, and heads straight to the boarding gate — all with your face. You’d also pre-cleared border control at special kiosks that scan passports, fingerprints, and faces.

Once on the plane, just before take-off, you realise you don’t have travel insurance. A quick call to the insurance company sorts it out, with your identity verified over the phone using voice recognition. Smooth and simple.

When you finally land, there’s only one thing left to do: get to the hotel and rest after the long journey. The last thing you want is to queue endlessly at reception. But no worries: you’ve chosen a hotel that lets you check in beforehand — again biometrically — and collect your room key from a lobby kiosk using facial recognition.

Now you can finally relax and get ready for your first day at Disneyland.

Understanding biometrics

Biometrics is the science of using people’s physical and behavioural traits for identification. Back in 2009, when recognising someone through their iris with a mobile phone still felt like science fiction, biometric technology has since become woven into everyday life. It now delivers a mix of security, convenience, and personalisation that has led to its unprecedented adoption.

At its core, biometrics refers to the unique physical and behavioural features that can be used to identify individuals. These include facial features, iris patterns, voice tone, and even the way we walk.

In just a few short years, biometric recognition technologies have shifted from being high-end security solutions to everyday tools, reshaping how we access our devices, protect our homes, and even pay for goods and services.

Biometrics is founded on a simple but profound principle: every person is unique. This technology leverages the distinctive physical and behavioural traits that set us apart in order to identify and authenticate us.

Physical biometrics include fingerprints, facial recognition, and iris scanning, while behavioural biometrics examine patterns we develop over time, such as voice recognition, typing style, or gait analysis.

The story of biometrics — from its early conception to becoming a core part of modern technology — is a fascinating one. Its origins can be traced back to ancient civilisations, but it wasn’t until the late 19th century that fingerprints were first collected for identification. Today, thanks to advances in computing power, artificial intelligence, and sensor technology, biometrics has taken a huge leap forward.

Modern biometrics not only identify us — they are designed with privacy in mind from the outset (privacy by design). The field has evolved through an exciting journey, tackling challenges such as using multiple biometric modalities (multibiometrics) to overcome hardware or environmental limitations, introducing liveness detection to verify that a real person is behind the authentication process, and securely linking a real identity to a biometric template through digital onboarding that incorporates a valid identity document.

Let’s take a look at some everyday uses of biometrics:

Biometrics in mobiles and laptops

For us, everything really began with mobile phones. Back in 2009, we became global pioneers in developing mobile biometrics — specifically iris recognition — which ultimately gave rise to Mobbeel.

Although clients loved what we were showing them, the truth is that society simply wasn’t ready. We were several years ahead of our time — so much so that we were even ahead of giants like Apple and Google.

It wasn’t until Apple introduced the first fingerprint sensor on the iPhone 5S (2011) that biometrics began to reach the mass market. At first, it was used for relatively simple tasks, like unlocking the device. Gradually, as people became more comfortable, fingerprint and facial recognition moved into more critical processes, such as accessing personal banking and authorising financial transactions.

From that point on, manufacturers across the world started integrating biometric sensors: fingerprint readers, infrared cameras for iris recognition (Samsung Galaxy S8, 2017), and 3D cameras for facial recognition.

The leap from mobiles to laptops and desktops was only natural. In fact, the very MacBook I’m using to write this article allows me to retrieve securely stored passwords from the keychain with nothing more than a fingerprint scan.

Biometrics in the financial industry

If we had to choose the very first sector where biometrics truly became mainstream, it would undoubtedly be the financial industry.

As a heavily regulated sector — with highly critical processes where security is paramount — legislation quickly evolved to strengthen customer identification through biometric technologies.

And really, who doesn’t use their mobile device’s biometrics today to log into their online banking app?

Some of the most common uses of biometrics in finance include:

• As a second authentication factor (2FA). To the traditional two factors — something you know (a password) and something you have (a token or mobile device) — we add a new factor: something you are.

• To authorise payments and prevent fraud. Biometrics are now used at ATMs, point-of-sale terminals, and for online purchases, replacing or complementing PINs and OTPs as a second authentication factor. The rise of mobile payment platforms like Apple Pay and Google Pay has reinforced the role of biometrics in finance. These services rely on fingerprint or facial recognition to authorise transactions, adding an extra layer of security compared to traditional PINs and passwords.

• For password recovery or logging in to access online banking apps.

That said, the way biometrics are used differs across the various players within the financial industry — whether traditional banks, insurance companies, or fintechs.

Discover the success story of Santalucía, the first insurer in Spain to use voice recognition technology in its call centres, powered by Mobbeel.

Biometrics in the public sector

Despite the somewhat irrational stance taken by the Spanish Data Protection Agency (AEPD) against anything that smells of biometrics, the public sector itself has actually been one of the earliest adopters of these solutions — largely due to the many advantages they bring:

• They provide greater security by identifying individuals unequivocally.

• They help prevent identity fraud in public services.

• In critical government facilities, they make access control more efficient.

• They streamline administrative procedures, making it possible to complete many processes remotely with full assurance that identity is properly protected.

That said, adoption has varied widely around the world. In the United States, the government implicitly supports both its tech industry and the uptake of cutting-edge technologies such as AI-driven biometrics. In Europe, however, the focus remains on regulation and debate over their use in more sensitive processes. Meanwhile, in China, biometrics have been deployed for large-scale video surveillance in public spaces — something currently unthinkable within the EU.

Below, we’ll showcase three success stories in the public sector where biometrics — and more specifically Mobbeel’s biometric technology — have played a key role. These cases highlight our expertise in working hand-in-hand with government and public administrations.

• Social Security: Integration with the Social Security system, where our identity verification solution plays a key role in confirming citizens’ identities across a range of procedures and services.

• Remote voting in governmental elections: The world’s first project enabling remote voting in a presidential election, allowing citizens abroad to exercise their right to vote securely from anywhere.

• Public universities: Collaboration with the University of Murcia, enabling digital identification for new students to simplify both administrative and academic processes.

• Border control: Deployment of our facial recognition technology across multiple European airports, speeding up entry into the Schengen Area while reinforcing border security.

Biometrics in access control and security

In the previous section, we highlighted the importance of biometric recognition solutions in the public sector, particularly in border control — a clear example of access management. But given its relevance, this subject deserves its own focus. Facial recognition technologies for access control not only enhance security but also improve the user experience by reducing queues and speeding up the process.

From a user’s perspective, one of the most common applications — and advantages — is the fast check-in or fast track lanes, where access is prioritised and no documents need to be shown.

These projects, already being rolled out across all types of transport hubs (airports, train and bus stations), include a landmark initiative in which Mobbeel played a key role: the most comprehensive biometric pilot ever carried out at an airport worldwide, at El Prat in Barcelona. Similar applications are also appearing in other sectors, such as biometric online check-in for hotels.

Airport security is another crucial area. Here, biometric kiosks, e-passports, facial recognition cameras, and fingerprint scanners come into play. These technologies dramatically reduce the risk of fraud and have likely been part of your experience whenever travelling outside the European Union.

Biometric passports, facial recognition cameras, and fingerprint scanners are now standard across many international airports. They speed up identification, reduce the risk of identity fraud, and significantly improve the overall efficiency of security checks.

A special mention should also be made of the use of biometrics in public-space video surveillance. This has been the subject of considerable debate, and has even been explicitly referenced in the world’s first Artificial Intelligence Act (the AI Act), which restricts the use of biometrics for surveillance in public areas within the EU. Under this framework, their deployment must be justified and proportionate, in full alignment with privacy regulations.

Biometría en sanidad

Biometrics also play a key role in the healthcare industry, improving patient care while making administrative and management processes more efficient.

The ability to identify patients with absolute certainty has driven adoption in both public hospitals and private clinics — as misidentifications can lead to serious consequences.

For this reason, biometric technologies such as fingerprint and facial recognition are used for patient registration and identification, ensuring medical records are always matched to the correct individual. This not only enhances patient safety but also streamlines administrative processes within healthcare facilities.

Our biometric platform guarantees patient identity throughout their entire digital journey: from the initial verification of their identity document, to the legally binding signing of consent forms, and secure multibiometric access to every consultation of their medical history.

• Onboarding: Identity verification through a valid digital ID.

• Consent: Biometric signing of documents with full legal validity.

• Continuous access: Multifactor authentication and multibiometric recognition for every login or record access.

Mobbeel in your everyday life

This article began with a story — a story that reflected a normal day in which biometrics are seamlessly used for countless everyday tasks. The only difference was that the technologies featured throughout were Mobbeel’s: Social Security, banking, insurance, airports, online check-in, facial recognition, voice biometrics…

All of these projects and technologies belong to Mobbeel.

In short: Mobbeel is part of your everyday life.

Write to us if you want your users to also use biometrics in their daily tasks.

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Digital identity in the University of Murcia

The beginning of any relationship between a university and its users whether students, staff, or collaborators requires precise and secure verification to ensure data protection and the integrity of its systems.