Lloyds Banking Group has signed an exclusive partnership with Microsoft to trial biometric authentication with customers logging into their Lloyds, Halifax and Bank of Scotland internet banking sites.

The ‘Windows Hello’ feature recognises the user, rather than having to remember an assortment of letters and numbers that are forgotten or could be guessed. It contains technology that creates a data representation of a face, not an image – preventing access via an impersonator using a photograph.

The cameras on Windows 10 devices use infrared technology to identify faces, so customers can be recognised in a variety of lighting conditions. The data is stored locally on the device and shared with no one but the user to help protect biometric data from theft.

Lloyds will be running a pilot in the second half of this year to test the Windows Hello functionality with Windows 10 users accessing their bank accounts online. Users will have the option to log in to their accounts using their face or fingerprint instead of typing in their passwords.

Gill Wylie, chief operating officer of group digital and transformation at Lloyds Banking Group, said: “With customer experience and security at the forefront of our minds, we are keen to run this pilot to explore the new functionality Windows Hello could give our customers. I am delighted we are the first banking organisation in the UK to work with Microsoft on Windows Hello, and excited to see how our customers use this feature.”

Ryan Asdourian, Windows and device lead at Microsoft UK, added: “This Lloyds Banking Group pilot marks another significant step towards an era of more personal computing. With more than 400 million active users of Windows 10 able to take advantage of Windows Hello, it is great to see a major financial services institution looking at how it can apply this technology to transform the customer experience.”

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