EyeVerify has seen growth in the financial services market through beta launches with institutions like Mountain America Credit Union (MACU). The biometric feature went live for MACU members last April after more than six months of internal review and proof of concept testing.

“We wanted to add the ability for members to utilize biometrics in our existing native app to ease the log in process,” says Shelby Peterson, manager of Product Strategy and Digital Banking for MACU. “Security is top of mind for many consumers as they do their banking with their mobile device or online. As a result, members are creating complex passwords that are difficult to remember and difficult to enter for every log in. We wanted to be able to tie the biometric to the complex password, enabling our members to do business with us more conveniently.”

Banking customers enter their password into their mobile device, then choose the option to save the password. Once the password is saved, they enroll in a biometric – fingerprint, iris or both – and tie it to the password. After that, they can log in using just the biometric.

EyeVerify enrolls an individual’s eye vein pattern and uses it for authentication. The user holds the phone a few inches away from their face and is prompted by the app’s voice tips during both enrollment and authentication. When in the correct position to capture the eye vein image, the handset vibrates twice to provide notice. The user then looks to the left or the right depending on the use case. Altering the gaze to the side enables the camera to better view the vein pattern in the white of the eye. The system maps a user’s eye vein pattern, which is unique to individuals in the same way that palm and finger vein patterns are unique.

Approximately 4% of MACU’s membership base – about 20,000 customers – are now participating in EyeVerify. Peterson says MACU is an early adopter of biometrics in the financial sector and expects those numbers to grow.

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