A method performs biometric verifications to authenticate the identification of users using a central biometric authority (CBA). This allows parties to an electronic transaction to be assured of each other's identity. Specifically, at the sender side, a first message to a receiver is generated, wherein the first message includes a message text and a unique message identifier (UMI). At the sender side, a second message concerning a posting to the CBA is also generated, wherein the second message includes the sender's biometric sample, the UMI, and the sender's submission profile record. At a receiver side, it is decided that if a receiver wishes to verify the sender's identity and if so, the first message is automatically verified. At the receiver side, a third message concerning a receiver's posting to the CBA is issued, the third message including only the UMI, as received from the sender side. Finally, at the CBA, a reply to the third message is provided, the reply including the sender's verification result.