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Rasmus Heinla, the Head of Private Client Banking at Coop Pank AS, says biometric authentication will make using bank services even quicker, safer and more convenient. “In addition to Mobile ID and Smart ID you can now use your own unique biometric data to log in to the Internet bank or app and confirm your payments,” he explained. “This is a feature both we and our clients have been eagerly awaiting for some time now to make using the bank even easier and more secure.”

The more than 150,000 clients of Coop Pank will now be able to log in to their accounts and make payments using their fingerprint or facial recognition, including on the rare occasions that Mobile ID and Smart ID are not working.

Clients will be able to use their biometric data to confirm a maximum of 10 payments of up to 100 euros at a time. The 11th payment will then have to be confirmed using Mobile ID, Smart ID or PIN2 on their ID card, after which 10 further payments can be made using biometric data, and so on.

Biometrics can be used to confirm card payments to the value of 300 euros. Other means of authentication will need to be used for transactions of higher value. Biometric data can also be used to securely confirm payments in online stores that have signed up to the 3DSecure or MasterCard SDK services. Moreover, biometric authentication will enable clients to view their bank card’s PIN in the Internet bank and mobile app.

Heinla says that the introduction of biometrics will also lead to a number of new opportunities for the further development of other banking services, such as the making of contactless payments with mobile phones.

To activate their biometrics, clients must first register their biometric data in their phone settings. In the case of Android phones this requires a fingerprint; on iOS devices Face ID (facial recognition) and Touch ID (fingerprint identification) are available, depending on which option the device supports and/or which of the two the user prefers. Once biometrics have been set up on your phone, activate biometric authentication in the Coop Pank app by clicking on facial recognition or fingerprint scanning under ‘Settings’, then give your consent for its activation using your Smart ID or Mobile ID PIN2.