‘Evolving’ Customer Expectations Prompt Touch ID Login for Fifth Third Bank

Cincinnati-based Fifth Third Bank has implemented Touch ID login for its mobile app. Now, users of Touch ID-enabled iPhones will have access to mobile services such as e-transfers and statement review with the tap of a finger.

In a statement announcing the Touch ID integration, the bank asserts that it implemented the system “as a response to its customers’ requests.” But the bank also ties it to trends indicating a significant rise in mobile banking among customers, asserting that its use rose 43 percent between 2014 and 2015. The bank also says that customers’ use of mobile alerts increased by 144 percent during the same period, and that mobile deposits were up 36 percent, with a fifth of all deposits done via mobile in 2015.

Trends like these are pushing numerous banks around the world to adopt biometric login for their apps, with Touch ID being a popular option, given its growing preponderance and its ease of use. Commenting on Fifth Third Bank’s embrace of the system, Executive Vice President Chad Borton said it’s a reflection of the evolving expectations of customers, and that “many of those expectations are being set by using non-bank apps such as shopping and games.” For its part, “Fifth Third is continuing to evolve its digital experiences to do the same, creating fast and simple banking,” he added.