First Bank of Nigeria Plc has launched a biometric ATM in the nation.
Nigeria’s foremost financial institution, First Bank of Nigeria Plc (FirstBank) has, again blazed the trail in technology-driven banking by introducing bio-metric Automated Teller Machine (ATM), the first in Nigeria’s banking sector. With the introduction of this technology, globally acclaimed as one of the most secure forms of customer identification, the Bank has again demonstrated its preparedness to protect the data resources of its customers. The solution is leveraging on the Customer Identification System (CIS) platform being developed by information technology team of the Bank.
According to Chuma Ezirin, Group Head, eBusiness of FirstBank, the new technology would be available to existing cardholders, who may wish to add biometric authentication as part of their transaction approval process on the Bank’s ATMs in addition to PIN selection while new cardholders, especially those who cannot read nor write and the elderly, would be issued cards with only biometric authentication functionality. “This is a great feat for the Bank especially at this period where fraud prevention and building customer confidence on the use of electronic channels are key customer acquisition and retention strategies. This would also drive financial inclusion, a Central Bank initiative to address the banking needs of the unbanked population’, he said.
The deployment of the new biometric solution, according to him, is a giant stride for the Bank as it not only provides convenience and security to our diverse customer segments, but also aligns with financial inclusion strategy of the Central Bank of Nigeria to address the unbanked population.
The machine has undergone series of tests and it is presently located at Marina, Lagos branch of the Bank while plans are in place to roll them out to strategic branches of the Bank.