TORONTO, March 23 (Reuters) - Bank of Montreal BMO.TO ,
Canada's fourth largest lender, said on Wednesday that it had
launched the first biometric corporate card program in Canada
and the United States in partnership with Mastercard MA.N .
BMO and Mastercard said the technology will enable
cardholders to verify transactions using facial recognition and
fingerprint biometrics when making online purchases.
In a statement, they said the introduction of the technology
will increase security when making payments that do not include
a face-to-face interaction. The programme will begin with the
issue of corporate cards incorporating the technology to BMO
employees in Canada and the United States.
Banks' security procedures are coming under scrutiny amid
evidence of increased attacks from sophisticated hackers.
"Mitigating the risk of fraud is always our top priority,
and the inclusion of this technology is going to make payment
authentication easier and strengthen the security of the entire
payments ecosystem," said Steve Pedersen, vice president of
North American corporate card products at BMO.
British bank Barclays (LON:BARC) launched a finger scanner for
corporate clients in 2014 and said it would role out voice
recognition for retail clients.