Techniques for extending access to biometric authentication systems to locations not necessarily equipped with a biometric scanner are disclosed. For example, an improved biometric authentication system may also accept a user-inputted pass code derived from, and serving as a proxy for, the user's biometric identifier. The pass code is constructed to be of a form that is meaningful to the user, so that it is readily memorizable. Exemplary forms of pass codes can include one or more words of text, color sequences, and more.