UK building society Nationwide is working on technology that analyses how users touch, type or swipe their smartphone or tablet as a security measure.

The financial institution has been working on the initiative for the past few months with Unisys, the US IT firm, as well as BehavioSec, a Swedish security firm which specialises in what it terms behavioural biometrics.

Traditional biometrics typically use facial, iris or fingerprint recognition to confirm a user’s identity, but what Nationwide is doing is different.

“We call it behavioural biometrics, and it uses continuous machine learning to authenticate users based, not on what they do, but on how they do it,” said BehavioSec’s website.

“Our algorithm can verify who someone is based on how they naturally interact with their device and deliver instant identity verification, along with continuous authentication,” it adds.

It does not require “special” sensors, or additional hardware, the company said. “Just artificial intelligence that works with your customers’ natural behaviour to protect their online integrity”.

However, Nationwide does not want to replace existing passwords but add an additional layer of security for users using its banking app.

Interestingly, the building society also shared some research about conventional passwords, including that the average adult in the UK has six of them to remember. In addition, 70 per cent of users click on the forgot password button an average of twice per month. A similar proportion of UK users want more security, but do not want more passwords or PINs to remember.