UK banks’ customers can access accounts with their fingerprint

iPhone users who are also customers of UK banks RBS and NatWest can now access their online banking app by simply pressing their finger on their phone’s home button.

The apps take advantage of the Apple Touch ID fingerprint recognition feature available on the iPhone 5S, 6 and 6 Plus.

According to the BBC, the banks’ customers themselves must activate the feature and confirm it with their security information. Additional verification will also be needed of them when using some in-app features.

Users who do set up the feature but for whatever reason fail to login with it after three attempts will be required to manually enter their login details.

Whether this is a good move is still debatable, as Apple’s Touch ID feature was cracked by Chaos Computer Club hackers shortly after it was released.

Still, the hacking process is not easy nor fast, and is extremely unlikely to be attempted by random phone thieves or individuals who find your phone after you lost it.

And, after all, Apple obviously has enough faith in the feature as it uses it for Apple Pay.

All in all, using Touch ID might not be the most secure option, but in this case convenience obviously trumps security.