Advertisement

RBS unveils biometric fingerprint card

The first biometric fingerprint card to be issued by a UK bank has entered circulation.

Royal Bank of Scotland, along with NatWest, is piloting the technology with 200 customers in a trial lasting three months.

It enables customers to use their fingerprints to verify transactions above the £30 contactless limit, meaning they have no need to enter their PIN.

The new cards work with existing contactless and chip and pin terminals so shops will be able to accept payments without having to update their technology.

Biometric fingerprint debit card launch
The technology will be able to verify transactions over £30 (Jane Barlow/PA)

Speaking at the bank’s headquarters in Edinburgh, David Crawford, head of payments at RBS, said: “We have a real ambition and goal to make banking easier for our customers and payments are a really big element of that.

“Customers have told us they are looking for greater convenience, greater safety and security and they are looking for greater control.

“With the biometric cards we’re launching today – which is a UK first we’re really excited about – customers get these elements that they are talking about.”