Finger Prints preferred to PIN numbers

FORGET signatures and PIN numbers - the UK should start using finger prints and iris recognition to prove who we really are, according to new research.

An overwhelming 86 per cent of people from our region said they would be happy to swap their chip and PIN keypad for a finger print reader if it meant their personal details were safer.

And more than 90 per cent thought using finger prints to prove who you are is much more secure than the traditional signature.

Finger print and eyeball recognition, also known as biometrics, is already part of everyday life in America - all visitors have to be finger printed before they can enter the country.

In Holland, iris scanning is used to fast-track frequent fliers through security checkpoints at Schiphol Airport.

The poll of 3,000 people, by York-based firm CPP, revealed just under two thirds of people from Yorkshire thought the UK should follow suit.