UK banks enable users to access their bank accounts via Touch ID

Despite the warnings about Touch ID vulnerabilities last year, for the first time in the UK, customers of Natwest and RBS are able to access their bank accounts by simply using their fingerprint.

Today, the Royal Bank of Scotland has introduced this service to RBS and Natwest customers who use an iPhone 5S, iPhone 6 or iPhone 6 Plus.

RBS have said their new Touch ID would be available to nearly one million Apple iPhone users that have the RBS or Natwest mobile banking app.

This means customers will be able to access their bank account by customer’s fingerprints so they don’t have to remember passwords to log in.

This is all part of the £1 billion RBS said they’d invest to make it easier for customers to bank when they are on the move.

Nearly half of the 15 million RBS customers currently use online banking, with three million of them accessing the search via the mobile app.

The 880,000 RBS customers that have Touch ID enabled iPhone can now opt to log into their accounts instantly with their fingerprint instead of by typing in a password.

US companies, include American Express, Discover and the US Bank already use Touch ID for their mobile applications, while the US Bank is also working on voice biometrics as an alternative to passwords.

Will this prove more secure than the traditional password?