TSB becomes first bank to offer iris recognition technology

TSB is to become the first bank in Europe to provide iris recognition technology through its mobile banking app.

The service will be launched in September 2017 and will be available to TSB customers free of charge.

Secure

According to TSB, iris recognition is the most secure form of biometric authentication, with the technology having 266 unique characteristics compared with 40 for fingerprint technology.

TSB’s iris recognition technology will be optional, with customers who choose not to use the service still being able to log in to their account using the traditional method or the bank’s fingerprint technology.

So far, the technology will only be available to customers who have a Samsung Galaxy S8 or Samsung Galaxy S8+ smartphone, with TSB stating that whether more customers will be able to use it will depend on whether mobile companies offer the feature on other handsets.

Whilst TSB is the first bank to offer iris recognition, more banks are starting to introduce new technology to enable customers to log in to their accounts, with Santander becoming the first bank to offer voice activated payments earlier this year.

HSBC and First Direct also provide voice recognition features, with both banks offering this technology to enable their customers to access telephone banking services.

Unparalleled

Commenting on the new technology, TSB Chief Information Officer Carlos Abarca said: “We want our mobile app customers to continue to have a fast, easy-to-use experience; iris recognition delivers that and, when combined with our other security measures, an unparalleled level of cyber security.”