NatWest and RBS customers can use fingerprint to protect mobile banking

The banks are offering the new way to log in for people using the latest iPhones.

NatWest and Royal Bank of Scotland (RBS) have launched fingerprint recognition on their mobile banking app for some customers.

This is due to customer demand for the service, according to the banks. However, the opportunity to sign in with a fingerprint via what's called Touch ID will for now only be available to people who have an iPhone 5S, iPhone 6 or iPhone 6 plus.

The ongoing digital revolution

The percentage of us accessing the internet via a mobile phone rose from 24% in 2010 to 58% in 2014, according to the Office for National Statistics, while 68% of us were using the internet ‘on the go’ on our mobile phones, tablets, or other similar devices.

In a lovemoney.com survey last May, 26% of readers said they used a mobile banking app every day, suggesting that it was a fairly popular method of keeping tabs on bank accounts, with a further 40% saying they used it at least once a week.

With mobile internet services becoming progressively faster and more reliable, it’s likely that we’ll see the trend of rising popularity continue. Natwest and RBS say that three million of their customers use the mobile app every week, which represents a fifth of their total customer base.

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Better security

Biometric data may provide the answer to the question of how to protect mobile banking accounts.

Unique physical characteristics like fingerprints can’t be reproduced in the same way a password can by fraudsters.

A Polish banking service provider last year began introducing vein-recognition technology on ATMs, another biometric ‘signature’ that acts as a far better security measure than a four-digit Pin.

Other biometric security methods include iris scans and voice recognition software, and we could see these methods of customer verification becoming more common in the near future.

[Related story: Number of people keeping finances with one bank declining]

Limited access

Though NatWest and RBS say that 1.8 million of their customers use the necessary iPhone models to access the new sign-in system, that leaves 1.2 million potential mobile customers without the service.

While iPhones are not the only phones to offer fingerprint sign-in, Apple provided the Touch ID technology for NatWest and RBS in this case.

Don’t rule out seeing similar sign-in systems implemented by banks in the future. In fact, we should all be asking for it – unlike your password or Pin, no one can copy your fingerprint.

Stuart Haire, Managing Director of RBS and Natwest Direct Bank, said that adding the fingerprint recognition security check “makes it even easier and more convenient for customers to manage their finances on the move” as there's no need to remember a passcode to sign in.

However, if you’d rather choose not to use Touch ID, you can still use your passcode instead.

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