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Biometric banking solutions expand in Southeast Asia

The use of biometric technology to enhance the security and convenience of banking services is gaining momentum in Southeast Asia, as two countries in the region have recently introduced new biometric banking options for their customers.

Philippines: PNB Digital App reaches one million users

The Philippine National Bank (PNB), one of the largest banks in the country, announced a new milestone this week: Registered users of the PNB Digital App surpassed one million. The app uses the PNB Digital Key soft token with fingerprint and face biometrics to provide a secure and convenient way for customers to access their accounts and perform transactions.

The PNB Digital App was launched in June 2020 as part of the bank’s digital transformation strategy. It offers a range of features, such as balance inquiry, fund transfer, bill payment, card management, and QR code payment. The app also allows customers to open an account online, without visiting a branch.

The PNB Digital Key soft token is a key feature of the app that enhances its security and convenience. It is a software-based authentication tool that generates a one-time password (OTP) for each transaction. Customers can activate the PNB Digital Key using their fingerprint or face biometrics, which are stored on their mobile devices. This eliminates the need to remember or enter passwords or PINs, and reduces the risk of phishing or hacking.

Biometric banking solutions expand in Southeast Asia

According to PNB President and CEO Wick Veloso, the PNB Digital App is part of the bank’s vision to provide a seamless and hassle-free banking experience for its customers. He said, “We are very pleased with the positive response of our customers to our PNB Digital App. We are continuously enhancing our app to offer more features and benefits to our customers. We are also investing in our digital infrastructure to ensure that our app is always reliable and secure.”

Malaysia: HSBC introduces voice biometrics for phone banking

HSBC, one of the leading international banks in Malaysia, launched its Voice ID solution for customers in Malaysia, making the country the first in Southeast Asia where HSBC has introduced this capability. Voice ID is an advanced voice biometric technology that allows customers to verify their identity using voice recognition capabilities. It also provides access to their phone banking services in a quicker, safer and more convenient manner.

Voice ID makes banking simpler for customers as they will no longer need to remember passwords or answers to security questions and will instead use their voice to identify themselves. Eligible phone banking customers can simply register for the service via the HSBC Voice ID enrolment hotline. The enrolment process requires the customers to repeat a standard passphrase, “my voice is my password”, that is used to create a voiceprint for future verification. The whole process takes less than three minutes.

Once the customers are enrolled, they can use the Voice ID passphrase instead of a Telebanking PIN (TPIN) the next time they use phone banking. Voice ID is a secure and convenient way to authenticate customers, as each person’s voice is unique and cannot be easily replicated. Voice ID can also recognize customers’ voices even if they have a cold, sore throat, or other minor voice changes.

Tara Latini, Head of Wealth and Personal Banking, HSBC Malaysia, said, “HSBC is focused on delivering banking services that offer simpler, better and safer features for our customers. With the introduction of our Voice ID solution, retail customers in Malaysia will have even quicker and easier access to their bank accounts while leveraging a more secure form of identification; using customers’ unique voiceprint which will help protect their accounts against fraud.”

Biometric technology: The future of banking security

Biometric technology is the use of biological or behavioral characteristics, such as fingerprints, face, voice, iris, or vein patterns, to identify and authenticate individuals. Biometric technology offers many advantages over traditional methods of authentication, such as passwords, PINs, or tokens, which can be forgotten, lost, stolen, or compromised.

Biometric technology can provide a higher level of security, as biometric traits are unique and difficult to forge or spoof. Biometric technology can also provide a higher level of convenience, as biometric traits are easy to use and do not require memorization or input. Biometric technology can also provide a higher level of customer satisfaction, as biometric traits can enhance the user experience and trust.

Biometric technology is becoming more prevalent in the banking industry, as banks seek to improve the security and convenience of their services, especially in the digital and mobile channels. According to a report by Deloitte, biometric technology is expected to generate at least US$23 billion in losses by 2030, prompting many banks and fintechs to develop more advanced biometric security systems to weed out would-be perpetrators.

Biometric technology is also gaining popularity among customers, as they seek more seamless and hassle-free banking experiences. According to a survey by HSBC, 74% of customers in Malaysia said they trust biometric technology to secure their financial information, and 61% said they prefer biometric technology over passwords or PINs.

As biometric technology becomes more accessible and affordable, more banks in Southeast Asia and around the world are expected to adopt biometric technology as a key component of their banking security and customer service.

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