Axis Bank launches touch identification for iPhone users

Axis Bank, the country's third largest private sector lender, has now allowed its iPhone customers to transact using their fingertips. For this, the customer needs to authenticate their fingerprint using the iPhone's Touch ID (available in the iPhone 5S and higher versions) on the mobile phone application.

Rajiv Anand, group executive and head-Retail Banking said the bank launched the new feature to provide convenience to the customers who are always struggling to remember PIN passwords and having to deal with the hassle of keying in.

Though the feature is currently available only for iPhone users, within three months, the bank is looking at launching this facility for Android customers. For using this, the customer's fingerprint needs to be set up on the Axis Mobile app after which they can authenticate subsequent financial transactions by either using the Touch ID or their mobile PIN.

With mobile transactions growing at a faster pace than internet banking, the lender is looking at increasing its offering on mobile phones. At present, there are about three million Axis Bank customers who use internet banking, while just under two million use the mobile banking application.

"Axis Bank has currently witnessed Rs 2,400 crore worth transactions through mobile banking during the month of June 2015. Mobile transactions have grown by nearly 113 per cent (y-o-y). Considering the traction being witnessed in mobile banking, we plan to introduce other innovative mobility solutions in the near future," added Anand.

The lender had seen 250 per cent growth in mobile banking transactions in 2014-15. In FY15, transactions worth Rs 12,636 crore were recorded on its mobile banking platform, compared with Rs 3,000 crore in FY14. At present, the bank is adding about 80,000 customers on a monthly basis, on its mobile banking application.

Apart from this, the bank has also launched its banking application for the Apple Watch. Customers need to merely sync the Axis Mobile app with their Apple Watch to check their savings account balance, view the last five transactions and notifications, access the 'Near Me' feature and search for ATMs/branches/offers near to them without any additional authentication.