Biometrics are the measurable physiological and behavioural characteristics that uniquely define a person.

One of the biggest risks for a bank is slowly adapting to the digital needs of their customers, putting them behind the curve of growing trends in mobile and online banking. Working with Daon, its biometric technology partner, Equiniti has developed one of the only end-to-end digital onboarding services in the UK that is convenient, secure, and easy to use. Equiniti will deploy Daon’s IdentityX®Platform to facilitate multi-factor, multimodal mobile biometric authentication in its innovative Prequel mobile solution.

The Prequel mobile app has been developed specifically for the financial services industry and includes key identification and authentication processes from credential verification to face and voice recognition capabilities. Biometric technology lends itself perfectly to the banking industry, where risks have increased over the last few years, as a convenient and secure alternative to using traditional passwords or pins. The “Know Your Customer” or KYC requirements imposed by the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) could mean large penalties for those who don’t adhere to these stringent regulations. In addition, if banks do not comply with latest anti-money laundering laws they could be prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law.

“Biometric solutions that have been implemented recently show a reduction in fraud, improved customer satisfaction and increased brand loyalty due to a positive customer experience,” said Andy Edler Business Development Director at Equiniti Intelligent Solutions. “This is another example of Equiniti developing digital solutions for clients that will change the way we interact with service providers making the process fast, simple and much more enjoyable.”

Biometrics streamline the authentication process by removing the need for additional equipment or human interaction and negate the requirement for complex passwords or pin numbers while also lowering operational costs. The document verification module of Prequel facilitates the scanning of officially recognised identity credentials such as a passport or driving licence. Prequel also enables fast, secure and scalable facial and voice recognition on a mobile device.

“Daon works with some of the most innovative brands in the world who are deploying biometrics for authentication within a wide range of customer experiences because, quite frankly, alternatives just aren’t good enough” said Tom Grissen, chief executive officer at Daon. “We also know that 4 out of 5 people across all age groups prefer using biometrics over passwords and pins for digital transactions. The IdentityX Platform provides Equiniti with a solution that is 100% inclusive and also future-proofs their digital onboarding service with the ability to add additional biometric technologies as they become available.”