The challenger bank, expected to launch in the new year and then into mortgages later in 2016, will offer customers the choice of using a set phrase or face scan to access their account, according to a Thisismoney report.
Biometric technology is already being used by banks in the US, and although other banks are also looking at using fingerprint scans, this could be a UK banking first.
The Durham-based bank will have no branches and is believed to be preparing to ask customers to use an app on smart phones to communicate, however, Mortgage Solutions understands extra support will be offered to mortgage intermediary distributors.
Special technology, similar to that used in airport passport controls, will scan a customer’s eyes and the distance between features such as the nose and mouth. Without a match, customers won’t be able to use accounts until verified.
Voice recognition technology measures the pitch of the customer’s voice and their speech patterns, which are believed to be virtually impossible for a fraudster to imitate. For access, savers simply say a set phrase to their tablet or into their phone. This will be matched with the bank’s recording of the customer’s voice.
During the Summer, Atom confirmed Iress will provide the technology behind its mortgage proposition launch.
The digital challenger bank will be one of the first clients to use the Iress mortgage system for lenders which has been adapted to meet the needs of challenger banks and regional building societies, alongside traditional high street lenders.
The system, MSO, is expected to give intermediaries a reduced time-to-offer by allowing them to scan and attach documents at the point of sale and an automated offer production function.
Atom Bank, which confirmed it gained its banking licence in June, is believed to have big intermediary plans. The bank appointed ex-Lloyds head of national accounts Maria Harris (pictured) to head up the intermediary mortgage sales division in September 2014 and Harris has been charged with setting the lending targets and strategy for the new mortgage lender with a select group of as-yet-unnamed mortgage distributors.
