1. A method for determining a similarity value between a first minutiae template and a second minutiae template, the method comprising: determining a first cluster characteristic for each first cluster of a plurality of first clusters, each first cluster comprising a plurality of first minutiae comprised in the first minutiae template; determining a second cluster characteristic for each second cluster of a plurality of second clusters, each second cluster comprising a plurality of second minutiae comprised in the second minutiae template; determining the similarity value based on the first cluster characteristics and the second cluster characteristics.