First bank in Turkey to use fingerprint authentication for mobile

İşbank, Turkey’s largest private bank, and Monitise (LSE: MONI), have integrated Apple’s Touch ID fingerprint authentication into İşCep, İşbank’s mobile banking application. The new functionality removes the need to type in a PIN, enabling a quick and easy login without compromising security. This is the first time Touch ID has been used in Turkish mobile banking.

Touch ID authentication for İşCep is available on iOS 8 for Touch ID-enabled phones (iPhone 5S and subsequent models). This feature means that users simply swipe their fingerprint to log in – which is verified by comparing it to the fingerprint stored securely on the device – instead of typing in their PIN.

Mobile Money leader Monitise designed and developed İşCep, which has over 1.2 million users – thousands of which use iPhones compatible with Touch ID authentication. It has been listed among the best new apps in the App Store.

Hakan Aran, CIO of İşbank, said of the launch: “We’re very proud to be the first bank in Turkey to introduce this new technology to mobile banking. It speaks to the importance of innovation and the potential it has to revolutionise the banking experience, and is a key part of our wider programme to use technology to deliver more for our customers. I’d also like to thank Monitise and İşBank’s technology subsidiary SoftTech for their support in launching Touch ID for İşCep.”

Peter Radcliffe, Monitise President EMEA & Asia Pacific, added: “Today’s consumer values a secure and seamless mobile banking experience – with the launch of Touch ID technology for İşCep, we’re getting a glimpse into a future where accessing your money is a completely frictionless process. We’re delighted to have achieved this as part of our long-standing partnership with İşBank.”