Even some manufacturers that offer biometrics equipment are rather unenthusiastic about the market. Less than 5 percent of access control readers sold use biometrics, according to manufacturers’ estimates. With such low volumes, some people say that prices – which are about three to nine times as much as traditional card readers, depending on the technology used – are unlikely to change much.

But talk to enough people and you will discover small but growing minorities within both the systems integrator and manufacturer communities that are having significant success with biometrics.