New Zeland's ASB Bank is using SMS messaging to secure Internet log-ins for online banking customers.
The RSA Mobile software enables bank customers to use their existing mobile phone as a secure authentication device, helping to ensure that individuals are positively identified before they can access sensitive account information and banking services.
The system is being introduced by the New Zealand bank in an effort to ward off the threat to customers from spoof bank Web sites that have plagued Internet banking users in Australia.
The RSA Mobile software generates a unique, one-time access code delivered via SMS for consumers to input during Internet log-ins.
Clayton Wakefield, group general manager of technology, ASB Bank, says: "Two-factor authentication such as RSA Mobile software is widely recognised as a stronger form of security than static passwords."
He says ASB Banks's online banking customers are conducting more than three million transactions per month over the Internet.
The bank expects to announce details of new online banking security solutions for customers based on RSA Mobile software in the coming months.