While smartphone owners are already used to the technology to unlock their devices without tapping in a secret code, it is starting to look like facial recognition will be deployed to verify a user's identity making a payment with their handset.

In addition to facial features, Juniper Research's analysts predict that a host of biometrics will be used to authenticate mobile payments, including fingerprint, iris and voice recognition.

According to the researchers, the report said that biometric capabilities will reach 95 percent of smartphones globally by 2025; by that time, users' biological characteristics will be authenticating over $3 trillion worth of payment transactions -- up from $404 billion in 2020.

Juniper Research lead analyst Nick Maynard said that all you need for software based facial recognition is a front-facing camera on the device and accompanying software.

"In a hardware-based system, there will be additional hardware layers that add additional security levels. It's increasingly important to differentiate because hardware-based systems are the more secure of the two."

Maynard's research shows that between now and 2025, the number of handsets using hardware-based systems will grow by a dramatic 376 percent to reach 17 percent of smartphones. Juniper expects the number of smartphone owners using software-based facial recognition systems to secure payments to grow by 120 percent to 2025, to reach 1.4 billion devices -- that is, roughly 27 percent of smartphones globally.

"Software-based facial recognition is strong because it's easy to deploy, but we are expecting a shift towards hardware-based systems as software becomes invalidated by fraudster approaches. Fraudster methods are always evolving, and the hardware needs to evolve with it."