RBS and NatWest banks to let customers access its iPhone app using Apple's Touch ID
comments
Two major banks are to let their customers access their accounts on their iPhones using Apple's Touch ID fingerprint scanning technology.
Royal Bank of Scotland (RBS) and NatWest said that customers will no longer need to remember complicated login information to see their finances.
It is the first time a major bank has enabled the fingerprint recognition technology in place of passwords and passcodes on a mobile phone application.
Scroll down for video
Natwest and RBS customers will be able to use their fingerprint to access their accounts on iPhones (above)
Around 880,000 RBS and NatWest customers are expected to be able to use the feature, which is only available on iPhone 5S and iPhone 6 devices.
RBS said that it hoped the technology would make it easier and more convenient for customers to access their finances.
Stuart Haire, managing director of RBS and NatWest Direct Bank, said: 'There has been a revolution in banking, as more and more of our customers are using digital technology to bank with us.
'Adding Touch ID to our mobile banking app makes it even easier and more convenient for customers to manage their finances on the move.'
While the banks are the first to make use of Apple's Touch ID fingerprint scanning technology, they are not the first to use such biometric scanning.
Barclay's Bank announced last year that it is to introduce 'finger-vein' readers to allow their customers to get rid of their pin numbers.
The scanners take an infra-red scan of the unique vein pattern that lies just below the skin.
Barclays said that it was rolling out the devices to its 30,000 corporate customers this year and if successful it would be extended to its other customers.
Apple's Touch ID uses a sensor to scan the fingerprint of users that it then matches to one stored in its software.
Some iPhone Apps already use Touch ID for making purchases, including Apple's own iTunes store and Amazon's app.
RBS and NatWest say 50 per cent of their 15 million customers now use online banking, with three million using their mobile app.
The banks estimate that 1.8 million of those use iPhones, on average 40 times per month.
However, not all models of the iPhone have Touch ID, with older devices and the iPhone 5C not featuring the hardware.
Those with the right technology will have to activate the feature with their usual security information but would then only need to use Apple's Touch ID from then on.
Apple said the Touch ID fingerprint sensor is designed to provide 'accurate readings from any angle
After three failed login attempts with Touch ID, however, customers would have to re-enter their passcodes.
Last year RBS said that it would invest £1 billion over the next three years to make it easier for customers to bank when they are on the move.
However, the introduction of Touch ID will raise some concerns among security experts.
German hacker Jan Krissler claimed that he had managed to use photographs of German Defense Minister Ursula von der Leyen's hand to recreate her fingerprints.
Others have shown that it is possible to unlock Touch ID secured phones by lifting fingerprints from glass or the device's screen.
Ben Schlabs, of SRLabs, a German hacking think tank, told the BBC: 'Just the fact that you are carrying the key around with you and leave copies of it exposed everywhere you go makes it a very different risk to something that is inside your brain. The risks are poorly understood.'
Put the internet to work for you.
0 comments:
Post a Comment