This article was published on July 6, 2015

UK bank Lloyds trials NFC for simpler account authorization on your mobile


UK bank Lloyds trials NFC for simpler account authorization on your mobile

Lloyds Bank in the UK is running a small trial to see if it can speed up the regristration process for mobile banking through use of ‘tap to transfer’ near field communications technology.

Instead of receiving a phone call when setting up the mobile banking app, people in the trial can authenticate their info by tapping their debit card against their contactless-enabled phone. So far, only 125 people are registered in the trial.

While it’s only now being used for verifying identity during set-up, it’s easy to see it being expanded to authorizing other changes, payments and account activity.

Recently, Lloyds changed its log-in procedures for customers to allow people to verify the process via the Lloyds app, rather than requiring a phone call.

Clearly, while appealing for users – speed and simplicity are key drivers for services – it also helps Lloyds too, as it means customer service agents can spend less time carrying out routine tasks that customers could do themselves.

➤ Lloyds Bank trials ‘tap to bank’ technology for mobile banking authentication [Lloyds Bank]

Read next: MyBankTracker helps you pick the right bank for your specific needs

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