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(20 May 2019) LEAD IN: This Spanish bank is the first in the world to offer customers facial recognition technology, for cash withdrawals. Customers may no longer need their PIN numbers to withdraw money at CaixaBank branches. STORYLINE: Soon ATM machines in Barcelona will accept facial recognition as a way to withdraw money from their bank accounts. New software will allow people to use facial recognition systems to take out cash in 20 of their branches by the end of this year. All customers need to do is visit a local branch and register their face and be photographed. The terminal is installed with a camera that validates up to 16,000 points of the face. It takes only a few minutes to put a name to this customer's face. Testing out the system, Jose Carlos de Martin, says, “this is a very positive thing.“ “Because it takes me closer to the things I usually do with my mobile phone. I am not used to typing a PIN number anymore, but rather use a fingerprint or face ID (on mobile phones). I think this is much more modern. And also more secure,“ he adds. Bank customer Mercedes Caceres says “I think face recognition is here to stay. It is also in fashion. We are all starting to get used to it through the news, etc.“ “Furthermore, the procedure isn't invasive and doesn't require a lot of effort from one's side. So it should go well and start to get more popular I think.“ The bank say it will guarantee a secure identification. Managing director of CaixaBank digital business, Benjami Puigdevall explains, “of course the service has to be based in strong authentication and security process. So that means that when you are getting money through this biometric system there is an algorithm using more than 16,000 points of your face and comparing these 16,000 points in our database.“ “So only if we are fully sure that it's you then you will get the money. If not then you won't get any money.“ The necessity of remembering multiple PIN numbers both at ATM's and during online web transactions is often considered by customers cumbersome and is often cited as an annoyance in digital banking opinion polls. Caixabank conducted its own study with real customers and they say that results were very favourable: over 70% clients said they were ready to use biometric technology as an alternative to entering their personal authentication code on a keyboard. According to the study most clients highlighted security (66%), convenience (19%) and speed (15% of customers). The system has even been tried on identical twins and it worked. The executive director of global customer experience at CaixaBank, Jordi Nicolau explains, “we have an employee in this branch who told us he has a twin brother. A twin brother who doesn't work for us. So they tried the system because they are so identical people with little distinction between the two. It was relief the day he told me: 'Jordi, this system really works. Because I tried to take money from his bank account and vice-versa and it was impossible. Because the machine can't be cheated.“ CaixaBank has developed this project in collaboration with its technological partners Fujitsu and FacePhi, manufacturers of the ATMs. CaixaBank aims to progressively expand facial recognition across its network of 4,409 stores in Spain throughout 2019. More than 1000 Caixabank ATMs will be fitted with facial recognition activation by the end of 2019. While CaixaBank is the first bank to roll out facial recognition to withdraw money, there are currently financial institutions in China and Japan incorporating this technology in some of the banking processes. Find out more about AP Archive: Twitter: Facebook: Instagram: You can license this story through AP Archive:
