Most respondents to a Mobey Forum survey do not offer biometric authentication to customers today but have their eye on it for the future.

One in five (22 per cent) said they already enable customers to use authentication, such as fingerprint or voice recognition.

In fact, fingerprint technology was clearly the most popular choice (56 per cent), followed by voice recognition (21 per cent).

Biometrics are being pushed as a more convenient means than traditional passwords for accessing banking and money apps via smartphones.

Indeed, authenticating user identity was the most popular usage for biometrics, followed by payment or transaction confirmation; digital signing of documents; on-boarding new customers; additional verification; and account management.

Handset manufacturers, including Apple, have been integrating fingerprint sensors into mobile devices.

As expected, most respondents (83 per cent) perceive a fingerprint sensor with an open interface, where authentication data can be controlled by the bank, as preferable.

However, some interfaces (including Apple’s Touch ID), are closed, with data controlled by the handset manufacturer. However, 59 per cent of respondents still see a closed interface as an opportunity.

Mobey Forum interviewed 235 respondents, of which 59 per cent were from banks and financial institutions and 32 per cent from IT providers.

It was unclear where the remaining eight per cent of respondents was from. The survey took place during the first half of 2015 across Europe, North America and the Middle East.