NatWest and RBS trial new fingerprint bank cards
Biometric payment system will allow customers to spend more than £30 using contactless cards
NatWest and the Royal Bank of Scotland have announced plans to trial new biometric bank cards that will allow cardholders to make larger contactless payments.
The bank cards will use fingerprint technology to verify transactions above the £30 contactless limit without the need for a PIN number.
The nationwide pilot project, the first of its kind in the UK, is due to begin in the coming weeks and will involve 200 NatWest and RBS customers.
Subscribe to The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.
Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
The banks said the new cards would increase security and make paying at tills easier for customers.
“This is the biggest development in card technology in recent years and we are excited to trial the service,” said David Crawford, head of effortless payments at NatWest.
The biometric technology, which has already been trialled in Cyprus and Italy, was developed by the Dutch company, Gemalto.
“Using a fingerprint rather than a PIN code to authorise transactions has many advantages, primarily enhanced security and greater convenience,” said Howard Berg, UK managing director of Gemalto.
“Cardholders can pay quickly and easily with just a simple touch, and they no longer need to worry about the limit on contactless payment transactions,” he added.
If the pilot gets the go-ahead, “it will be the next step in the contactless spending revolution that has swept Britain since 2013,” says Patrick Collinson, The Guardian’s money editor.
Last year more than six billion payments were made using contactless technology, but the £30 limit is restricting further growth, particularly for people filling up their cars at petrol stations or doing a large weekly supermarket shop, he adds.
Create an account with the same email registered to your subscription to unlock access.
Sign up for Today's Best Articles in your inbox
A free daily email with the biggest news stories of the day – and the best features from TheWeek.com
-
The CIA is openly recruiting foreign spies in other countries
In the Spotlight The agency is posting instructions in multiple languages for people to contact them
By Justin Klawans, The Week US Published
-
'People want to understand food — but only to a point'
Instant Opinion Opinion, comment and editorials of the day
By Justin Klawans, The Week US Published
-
How do cash-back apps work and are they worth it?
The Explainer Put a percentage of the amount you spend back in your pocket
By Becca Stanek, The Week US Published
-
Labour shortages: the ‘most urgent problem’ facing the UK economy right now
Speed Read Britain is currently in the grip of an ‘employment crisis’
By The Week Staff Published
-
Will the energy war hurt Europe more than Russia?
Speed Read European Commission proposes a total ban on Russian oil
By The Week Staff Published
-
Will Elon Musk manage to take over Twitter?
Speed Read The world’s richest man has launched a hostile takeover bid worth $43bn
By The Week Staff Last updated
-
Shoppers urged not to buy into dodgy Black Friday deals
Speed Read Consumer watchdog says better prices can be had on most of the so-called bargain offers
By The Week Staff Published
-
Ryanair: readying for departure from London
Speed Read Plans to delist Ryanair from the London Stock Exchange could spell ‘another blow’ to the ‘dwindling’ London market
By The Week Staff Published
-
Out of fashion: Asos ‘curse’ has struck again
Speed Read Share price tumbles following the departure of CEO Nick Beighton
By The Week Staff Published
-
Universal Music’s blockbuster listing: don’t stop me now…
Speed Read Investors are betting heavily that the ‘boom in music streaming’, which has transformed Universal’s fortunes, ‘still has a long way to go’
By The Week Staff Published
-
EasyJet/Wizz: battle for air supremacy
Speed Read ‘Wizz’s cheeky takeover bid will have come as a blow to the corporate ego’
By The Week Staff Published