Norway’s BankID is to trial a new smart authentication platform from Encap Security, which removes the need for key fobs by enabling authentication within a smartphone app.

Developed originally to simplify access to online banking, BankID is now used by 80 per cent of all adults in Norway to prove identity to various organisations, including all government departments and all of the country’s banks and mobile operators. More than 50 per cent of Norwegians use BankID to access and file their taxes, while 85 per cent of students in Trondheim sign their tenancy agreements with the platform.

The app currently uses key fobs and one-time password generation for authentication. The new system from Encap hopes to replace these features with a simpler, more flexible solution. The smart authentication platform includes support for both Apple’s Touch ID and Android’s fingerprint API, and has additional protection against ‘man-in-the-middle’ attacks.

Frode Beckmann Nilsen, head of development at BankID, said: “We want to make sure we remain ahead of the curve by creating a new experience – dropping the need to carry around key fobs or copy and paste from another app – while also ensuring the highest security standards. Each bank will provide an app and introduce it to the customers in their own pace. Our purpose with this Encap app has been to provide a useful showroom for our next future proof BankID experience.”

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