HSBC announced its corporate clients now have the option to use facial recognition biometrics for app logins, joining a trend of banks offering enterprises features that are available to retail customers.
The bank on Wednesday said clients can now use its Face ID authentication service in 24 countries to log into the bank’s commercial banking mobile app, called HSBCnet, which already offers a Touch ID login option. The new functionality speeds up login times to less than a second, HSBC said in a press release.
The technology works by recognizing facial features and analyzing over 30,000 reference points to create a "depth map" of the face. It then connects the bank’s mobile application programming interface securely to the phone’s software to authenticate the user. HSBC claims the process guarantees a “less than a one-in-a-million chance of mistaken identity.”
Facial recognition authentication has
HSBC’s move to allow corporate clients to authenticate via facial recognition is part of a larger trend of banks beginning to offer companies
“HSBCnet Mobile use has grown by 60% in the last year alone, with an equivalent growth in value,” said Diane Reyes, HSBC’s global head of liquidity and cash management, in the press release. “With single amounts of up to $1 billion authorized on the app, we know our customers will appreciate the additional security and ease Face ID allows.”
The first smartphone model to support Face ID is Apple’s iPhone X, which HSBC said almost a fifth of current commercial clients already use to access mobile banking. The bank’s Touch ID option will remain available to all other customers.
