"Systems developers and owners must address those concerns so that these technologies can move towards the mainstream on a large scale, with appropriate protection and sensitivity."

Frost & Sullivan security analyst James Turner said while speed of identity verification may be driving people's acceptance of biometrics, the key issue is that biometrics can be a security block, rather than an enabler.

Turner added that what is more important in the smartcard debate is ratifying exactly where the identification data is stored.

"A faster and less frustrating security procedure, like using biometrics, would offer less resistance," Turner said.

"Smartcards or national identity cards will go ahead, but we need to talk about implementation, who can access the data and which government department will be in control of the repository, will the government then privatize that group or outsource. We need these issues resolved before we can move forward."