An authentication request is sent to a server. An authentication request reply message is received from the server. A biometric feature input by a user is received. A biometric feature template identifier (ID) corresponding to the received biometric feature is acquired using the received biometric feature. The acquired biometric feature template ID is compared with a stored biometric feature template ID included in an enable record that is used for biometric feature verification and created during a biometric feature verification enabling process. When the two biometric feature template IDs are consistent, an authentication response message is generated. The authentication response message is sent to the server for verification. Verification includes comparing the biometric feature template ID in the authentication response message with the biometric feature template ID in a saved user record. The verification succeeds if the two biometric feature template IDs are consistent; otherwise an error is reported.