Biometrics in many pundits minds are rapidly becoming the silver bullet for all authentication requirements. This is often based on some very grave and false assumptions on their capabilities for real world use, and a misunderstanding of the ease with which they can be deployed. There is also a danger when biometrics are put forward as a solution to fail to apply the classical security and business risk assessments to determine if and how the technology should be used. We in APACS have been monitoring biometrics technologies for a number of years in order to understand what role it could play in banking and payment systems, especially in the area of customer authentication. The aim of this presentation will be to assess the current capabilities and limitations of biometrics and assess how ready these technologies are for use in our sector, and in doing so help to provide the basis for a more reasoned and balanced debate on biometrics.