NatWest is launching Britain's first biometric bank card which will allow people to verify payments over £30 - the current contactless card limit - without the need to enter a PIN at the till.

It will verify card payments using the owner's fingerprint and will be used by 200 customers in Britain.

Bank cards used in the trial will store information which means people can verify payments by placing their finger over a box on the card.
This is then swiped at the till without a PIN being entered.

As well as perhaps being simpler than keying in a PIN, such technology could potentially help people who have difficulty remembering number codes and may be useful to vulnerable customers.

David Crawford, NatWest head of effortless payments, said: 'We are using the very latest technology across our business to make banking easier for our customers and biometric fingerprint cards are one of the many technologies we are exploring further.
'This is the biggest development in card technology in recent years and we are excited to trial the service.'

NatWest said it worked closely with digital security company Gemalto along with Visa and Mastercard to bring the service to customers in the UK.

Howard Berg, UK managing director of Gemalto, said: 'Using a fingerprint rather than a PIN to authorise transactions has many advantages, primarily enhanced security and greater convenience.

'Cardholders can pay quickly and easily with just a simple touch, and they no longer need to worry about the limit on contactless payment transactions.'

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