FirstBank Banking App Combines Touch ID, Digital Certificates

Coloradan financial services company FirstBank has launched its updated iOS app featuring fingerprint-based authentication.

The system was developed in collaboration with mobile security specialist Entersekt and represents the culmination of a partnership first announced in February of this year. It allows FirstBank customers to log into their mobile apps by scanning their fingerprints on the iPhone’s Touch ID system, thereby eschewing the need for complex passwords.

While many banks have embraced Touch ID for mobile banking authentication, the FirstBank solution is unique in using Entersekt’s Transakt platform, which establishes a digital certificate on the user’s device that is also used for authentication alongside the use of Touch ID.

In a statement announcing the upgraded app’s launch, FristBank COO Jim Reuter said it will “make mobile banking more convenient without compromising security, which is the utmost importance to us.”

The bank also indicated that an Android version of the app is in the works.

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November 2, 2016 – by Alex Perala