Massachusetts Mutual Life Insurance, or MassMutual, is now letting its customers access their account information in its RetireSMART mobile app with facial recognition on the iPhone X.
The app can contain sensitive information pertaining to users’ 401(k)s and other retirement plans, and accordingly MassMutual emphasized the security of the iPhone’s facial recognition technology in its announcement of the login support. The firm emphasized that Face ID has features designed to prevent spoofing attacks, and that its biometric data is encrypted and stored in a Secure Enclave, with MassMutual Customer Experience Head of Mobile Technology Durga Nagalla insisting that “security has always been a top priority” for the company. “Biometric authentication using facial recognition or fingerprint scanning offer a balanced solution in keeping customers information secure while offering them convenient access to their accounts,” Nagalla added.
In embracing Face ID for login security, MassMutual becomes part of a relatively small handful of firms that have incorporated Apple’s facial recognition technology into third party mobile apps. For many, given how small a proportion of their customers actually are iPhone X owners, there isn’t yet a strong incentive to support Face ID for login. But with facial recognition being the only biometric modality supported on the iPhone X, these users will essentially be opted out of biometric security if firms only focus on the fingerprint recognition technology that is so widespread across other mobile devices.
MassMutual’s Face ID support comes alongside upgrades to its RetireSMART app’s user interface dashboard, with the latter applying to users across iOS and Android devices.
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