CHAPTER ONE
INTRODUCTION
         1.1  Background to the Study
In the olden days, financial institution in Nigeria did almost all their transactions manually, to allow customers perform their financial transactions and other banking processes. The customers have to form a queue which ends up consuming a lot of consumer’s time and is not always efficient. In view of this and the fast wind of  IT sweeping through Nigeria, had lead the bank to the utilization of an electronic device known as Automatic Teller Machine (ATM) for performing transaction without the physical presence of a bank delegate. Automated teller machine is a mechanical device that has its roots embedded in the accounts and records of a banking institution. It is a machine that allows the bank customers to carry out banking transactions like deposits, transfers, balance enquiries, mini statement, withdrawal and fast cash e.t.c. The ATM has gained wide utilization due to the 24 hours service it provides to customers. Khatmode R. K. et al,(2014).
            Nearly 10 years since its introduction in Nigeria, the ATM has become the favored channel of financial transaction by most Nigerians. However, the expanding and wide acceptance of the ATM by the member of the public has led to a need to further build and enhance the security and integrity of the system. Utilization of ATM (Automatic Teller Machine) is helpful for monetary transaction. ATM transaction is initiated by inserting the ATM card and typing the PIN (Personal Identification Number) of that specific card. Despite the fact that bank allows their customers to choose their PIN, this system is not safe to use because anybody can access the system if they have the card and PIN number. The system looks at the code against a stored list of approved authorized passwords and users. PIN typically in a form of four digit combination of numbers that is entered via the ATM panel. If the code is genuine, the system permits access at the security level approved for the owner of the account. The strength of PIN as a security system is weakened and the likelihood of the code leaking to other people is high. In recent time, due to fraudsters advancements and technological improvement it is now possible to fix ATM Card scanners in ATM Machine to acquire encoded information from ATM Card, which is again used to create a copy of the ATM card and to make fraudulent transactions. This is the primary impediment of the current system. Conventional ATM systems authentication method has some limitations. Using ATM card and password cannot;
Verify the client's identity exactly.
Protect the card user against theft.
It is easy for fraudsters to get the PIN and perform fraudulent transactions.
Protect customers from Vulnerabilities and the increasing wave of criminal activities occurring at Automated Teller Machines (ATMs.)
 This has called for a more secure method of authentication at the ATM terminals. Biometrics based authentication is a potential technique in increasing ATM security. Among all the biometrics, fingerprint based identification is one of the most mature and proven technique. Biometric is a Greek Words, Bio means life and metric means measuring some objects that have life. Biometric measures both physiological and behavioral characteristics. These characteristics are finger prints, Voice patterns, hand measurements, irises and others (although this project will be limited to fingerprints alone). These characteristics are used to identify an individual, they are connected to an individual and cannot be forgotten, stolen, shared or easily hacked like passwords.