Brits warming to biometric technology for online banking access

In a survey of 2,090 UK adults conducted by YouGov on behalf of credit reference agency Equifax it was found that nearly as many consumers would prefer fingerprint recognition (31%) to gain access to online banking as would prefer passwords (32%). Two banks in the UK, the Royal Bank of Scotland and NatWest, have already implemented fingerprint recognition technology for logins due to customer demand for the service.

Just 21% of those surveyed for Equifax said they prefer answering security questions and just 3% were in favor of voice recognition technology.

According to John Marsden, a fraud and identity expert at Equifax, while biometric technology, such as fingerprint recognition, is still in its infancy in the UK, research has shown that consumers perceive it as a secure method of identification.

"As technology evolves, we are seeing a shift in security preferences online," said Marsden. "New biometric technologies could potentially see traditional means for authenticating identity online, such as passwords and security questions, become a thing of the past. Using fingerprint technology helps protect customers without the need to remember multiple passwords and pin numbers, while speeding up transactions and making the process more seamless."

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Tags: biometrics, online banking, online security, trends