Bank of America Merrill Lynch has brought fingerprint and facial recognition to its mobile app, CashPro Mobile. The biometric technology is used for mobile login, offering stronger security and greater convenience for end users.
A lot of users stand to benefit from the move. Aimed primarily at treasurers in businesses, the CashPro app is used by over 475,000 treasurers, according to BofA Merrill; and it saw a 188 percent jump in year-over-year payment approvals for Q1, suggesting that the app’s use is on the rise.
Of course, wherever business goes, fraud goes too, so the biometric security appears to be a timely development. But in a statement announcing the new features, BofA Merrill Global Transaction Services’ financing and channels head Hubert Jolly emphasized the need to improve the overall mobile banking experience as demand for such technology grows. “Many factors are at play in the growth of mobile adoption and the demand for more robust features in mobile apps,” he said. “Top among them is the expectation treasurers bring from conducting mobile banking for their personal finances.”
It’s the latest sign of the organization’s interest in biometric authentication, with Bank of America having announced that it would trial iris-based login via Samsung devices for mobile banking customers last summer, and that it would work with Intel on biometric security for online banking on PCs in the autumn of last year. And of course its interest in such technology reflects the rise of biometric security in financial services more broadly as customers do more and more banking online.
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