Various regional dailies, 11 March 2015: 'Mobile banking at ING with your fingerprint'

“Using a fingerprint to access your bank account on your smartphone. It's possible since yesterday with ING's banking app.

The fingerprint is not compulsory; those who want it can continue to use the five-digit login code. That appeases lawyer Vincent Böhre of the Privacy First foundation. "If it is not compulsory and ING respects customer privacy, the use of fingerprints is OK," says Böhre.

ING yesterday became the first bank in the Netherlands to launch the new fingerprint recognition technology. Voice recognition for mobile banking was already enabled late last year.

For now, the fingerprint will only work for logging in, but before the summer it will also work for executing a payment order. ING has chosen to introduce the feature incrementally to take advantage of customer feedback.

The fingerprint app is only available for owners of the latest iPhone models, the series 5 and 6, the iPad Air2 and the mini iPad. These devices feature the so-called Touch ID option. Users, if they choose, can unlock these phones with their fingerprint.

To use the technology, customers must download the latest version of the ING app. The app was already introduced for ING's Belgian customers late last year. Some other banks in Europe have also recently started using fingerprint recognition.

"The use is voluntary. Customers can also always use the PIN to do mobile banking," ING's Inge Witteman assures. She stresses that customers can use the fingerprint technology without fear. "We comply with most current privacy regulations."

Every day, 2.2 million people log into ING via the app."

Source: BN/DeStem, De Stentor/Zwolse Courant, Veluws Dagblad, Zutphens Dagblad, Sallands Dagblad, Nieuw Kamper Dagblad, Gelders Dagblad, Dagblad Flevoland, Deventer Dagblad, Apeldoornse Courant, De Gelderlander, Dagblad de Limburger, Brabants Dagblad, Provinciale Zeeuwse Courant, Limburgs Dagblad, Eindhovens Dagblad & Twentsche Courant Tubantia, 11 March 2015.