Eight in ten UK customers are ready to ditch their passwords in favour of biometric security measures, new figures have claimed.

Fingerprint technology has been voted the most popular biometric method, according to the new Future Password Index from digital financial services provider Intelligent Environments.

Huge sales of Apple’s iPhone 5 had helped contribute to a major shift in consumer attitude toward biometrics, as people became used to its intuitive Touch ID fingerprint scanner, said the vendor, adding that the technology was predicted to appear on iPads shortly.

The latest index, based on a survey of 2,000 adults, found that 53 per cent of UK banking customers wanted their banks to integrate fingerprint scanners into their digital banking services. The least popular biometric method was found to be voice recognition, popular with just 27 per cent of those polled.

Barclays Bank made moves in this area last month, announcing it was intending to introduce voice recognition in its retail banking call centres from next year.

Clayton Locke, chief technology officer at Intelligent Environments, said: “In the battle of the biometrics, it’s not surprising that fingerprint scanners come out on top as more people are getting used to them being built into mobile devices. But what the Future Password Index really reveals is the consumer demand for these technologies.

“Banks like Barclays are already looking at the future of passwords. Other UK banks need to start looking at how they can satisfy the rapidly escalating customer demand for biometrics by looking at implementing a range of options that best suit their customers’ needs.”

Share Story: