CommBank launches facial recognition for their banking App

Can you trust facial recognition for your bank accounts? CommBank thinks so.

Commonwealth Bank (CBA) have announced they are utilising ‘Face ID’ on the new iPhone X device.

The big four bank is the first Australian bank to offer the service to customers, who will be able to access their accounts using Face ID instead of traditional passcodes or fingerprint logins.

Is this technology safe?

While it may sound like something out of a sci-fi movie, Apple insists their Face ID technology is secure.

“The probability that a random person in the population could look at your iPhone X and unlock it using Face ID is approximately 1 in 1,000,000 (versus 1 in 50,000 for Touch ID). 

As an additional protection, Face ID allows only five unsuccessful match attempts before a passcode is required.” 

Statistical probabilities are different for some family members.

The statistical probability is different for twins and siblings that look like you and among children under the age of 13, because their distinct facial features may not have fully developed. 

This means there is a possibility that siblings and children under 13 who have access to your phone could gain access to your bank accounts. However, Commonwealth Bank Executive General Manager of Digital, Pete Steel, has confidence that this technology is secure.

“Our customers use secure fingerprint logins on the CommBank App about 30 million times a month.

“Extending that functionality to Face ID is part of our ongoing work to provide a better banking experience to our customers through simple, easy and secure features.

“Face ID is one of the most secure ways to log into an account because it performs in-depth mapping of an individual’s face using more than 30,000 points of reference. These include the spacing between, and shape of, facial features.

“While we strive towards convenience and ease of use, we don’t implement new technology without being able to guarantee security for customers,” said Mr Steel.

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