Emojis coming to a PIN pad near you
01 July, 2015
category: Digital ID, Financial
For those who favor smiley faces and other emoticons over numbers and letters, a new way of logging into financial accounts is on the horizon.
It’s coming by way of Intelligent Environments, an international provider of innovative mobile and online solutions for financial service organizations. The company’s Interact single software platform enables secure financial applications, transaction and servicing across digital channels.
Now, Intelligent Environments has launched Emoji Passcode. The company touts emoji as the fastest growing language in the UK.
“Our research shows 64% of millennials regularly communicate only using emojis,” says David Webber, Managing Director at Intelligent Environments. “So we decided to reinvent the passcode for a new generation by developing the world’s first emoji security technology.”
Emoji Passcode has been integrated into Intelligent Environments’ Android digital banking app. The service enables consumers to log into their banks using four emoji characters – selected from a cast of 44 – instead of traditional PINs or passwords. The company says emojis are easier to remember and mathematically more secure than traditional passcodes.
“There are 480 times more permutations using emojis over traditional four digit passcodes,” Webber says. “In addition, it will prevent hackers from identifying common and easily obtainable numerical passcodes, like a date of birth or a wedding anniversary. This new emoji security technology is also easier to remember as research shows humans remember pictures better than words.”
Webber says Emoji Passcode will be available as soon as financial service providers roll it out to their customers.
The service currently works only on Android devices, but can eventually be ported to other devices and ATMs.