OCBC launches first biometric business banking mobile app

OCBC Bank launched on Monday a new and more convenient business mobile banking application with biometric authentication, allowing customers to access accounts using fingerprint without the need to log in using user ID and password.

The OCBC Business Mobile Banking application will allow Singapore-registered users of OCBC's business Internet banking portal, Velocity@ocbc, to access their account balances and transactional activities using fingerprint recognition.

More than 120,000 customers are expected to benefit from this application "anytime and anywhere, even when they are overseas".

The new application features OCBC OneTouch which leverages Apple's Touch ID technology.

OCBC, which boasts being the first bank here to offer a business banking mobile application that uses biometric authentication, said the application was developed after studies have shown a 30 per cent increase in the number of calls from customers enquiring about their business account information in the last three years.

"The need to know their account balances and status of incoming and outgoing funds are clearly critical for business owners to effectively manage their day-to-day operations. Understanding this need, we developed this app to provide control, assurance and accessibility to our customers, which fits their business requirements as well," said Gregory Trotter, head of cash management, global transaction banking, at OCBC Bank.

According to the Infocomm Development Authority of Singapore (IDA), mobile data usage in Singapore has doubled over a short span of just over three years, from a monthly average of 5.33 petabytes in the second quarter of 2012 to 10.68 petabytes in the fourth quarter of 2015.

OCBC OneTouch is available on Touch ID enabled Apple iPhones, such as iPhone 5s and newer models that run on at least iOS 8 operating system (or later versions).

To get started, customers need to download the OCBC Business Mobile Banking app from the Apple App Store. They will need to perform a one-time activation by keying in their Velocity@ocbc organisation ID, user ID and password, followed by a one-time password (OTP) sent via SMS or security token.

Thereafter, within the app, customers need only to place their finger on the home button to view their account balances and transactional activities.

The OCBC Business Mobile Banking app is also available for Android phone users on Google Play. Customers using Android phones will need to perform a two-factor authentication (2FA) using their security token or SMS-OTP to log in.

This article was first published on April 26, 2016.
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