Important Announcement of Iris Scanning Security in the UAE

My guess is that it will be an opt-in service: "Do not authorise any withdrawals from my account unless accompanied by an iris scan verification".

So, it's up to the customer whether they want to make the extra step to protect themselves.

The rate at which ATMs are exploding in Sydney lately would make me nervous about investing so much in something which might easily be vandalised.

I would also consider  - Can you trust a bank with your biometric data, and do you really need to?"

Will we see skimming of biometric data?

Consumers aren't really given the choice.  But I also doubt the veracity of this story. Because, most security experts know that there are more economical ways of providing strong authentication that do not require changes in an ATM kiosk. It truly would be surprising if the CB of UAE isn't properly and adequately informed of what is truly feasible.

You are right.  It is a very expensive method of dual factor authentication.  They can as well go for SMS PIN or Tokens.  Still, this can only prevent them within UAE.  Customers can request their banks to disable withdrawals outside UAE and enable for a short period during travel.