Customers of two household name banks across the UK are set to be able to access their mobile and telephone banking using the unique characteristics of their body.
This new technology comes as research reveals that 37% of Brits agree that traditional passwords have become an outdated security measure, and one in three people will use the same password across most of their accounts.
Millions of UK consumers are set to be able to access their mobile and telephone banking using the unique characteristics of their own body to verify their identity.
HSBC and First Direct are bringing biometric security to the mainstream, announcing the roll-out of voice biometrics and touch ID to their UK customers.
The announcement coincides with research which has found that over a third of consumers (37%) agree that traditional passwords have become an outdated security measure.
And with one in three people using the same password across most of their accounts and half (54%) admitting that they rarely update their passwords, it seems this change is certainly due.
HSBC and First Direct are pioneering the largest roll out of biometric security technology that the UK has seen in order to strengthen the security of customer data, reduce the potential for fraud and improve the customer experience.
The new voice biometrics technology will use voice recognition by cross-checking over 100 behavioural and physical identifiers, ranging from speed and pronunciation to the shape of a person's larynx, vocal tract and nasal passage.
Customers who opt in will simply be required to enrol their `voice print' and will no longer need to recite their current telephone security password letters or PIN.
And for consumers with Touch ID on their mobile phones, their identity is literally at their fingertips, with some of the most advanced technology from Apple enabling them to access their mobile banking apps in the same way they unlock their phone.
Whilst Brits seem confident in this new technology, with 74% saying that they believe the body will become the default password of the future, 33% believe that it will take 10 years or more for this to become a reality.
This is in contrast to the experts, who predict that this will be sooner than expected.
