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The feature also allows businesses to authorise multiple users to set up payments, which business owners can then subsequently approve on the go through their app, providing additional flexibility and ease overpayment management.
Customers can make a payment thanks to three unique security factors: once they have registered their device, they can then set up and approve a payment using biometric authentication – such as Face ID or Touch ID – before entering their six digit Bankline Mobile Keycode to complete the process.
The bank has worked with external partners to ensure that the new feature is completely secure and complies fully with the forthcoming Payment Service Directive (PSD2) regulations that govern Secure Customer Authentication, due to come into effect later this year.
NatWest is initially rolling the improvement out to iOS users today, with availability on Android and other platforms expected to follow in the second half of the year.
Jeni Mundy, UK and Ireland Managing Director of Visa, NatWest’s partner in the venture, added: “Biometrics are the next step. It is another layer of security.”
James Holian, Chief Operating Officer, Commercial and Private Banking at NatWest, said “We know that ease, speed and security are important to our customers, and that’s why we’re excited to be the first UK bank to offer biometric payments of any size, through our Bankline Mobile app. By offering unprecedented levels of security via three levels of unique authentication, as well as the ability to make payments of any size, we feel this is another important innovation that will make it easier for our customers to get on with doing what they do best: running their business.”
The launch is the latest biometric payment first from the bank – in March NatWest announced that they were the first UK bank to launch a biometric card for personal customers, allowing payment of transactions over £30 with a simple touch of the card.