Australia and New Zealand Banking Group (ANZ) has unveiled plans to launch password-less web banking for its digital platform, ANZ Plus, making it the first bank in Australia to offer this feature.

The new service is set to be available in mid-2025, allowing customers to access their accounts without the need for traditional passwords.

Instead, users will authenticate their identity through two methods, including a passkey, which may include biometric options such as fingerprints or facial recognition, or by entering their mobile number and approving a login request via the ANZ Plus app.

To further enhance security, ANZ Plus incorporates advanced biometric verification during the onboarding process, requiring customers to provide a selfie and an ID document.

This process ensures that only the legitimate account holder can access their account and facilitates secure identity verification when resetting access PINs or increasing payment limits.

With the introduction of password-less web banking, ANZ aims to mitigate risks associated with data breaches, password leaks, and phishing attacks.

ANZ Group’s Australia retail executive Maile Carnegie said: “The introduction of Password-less Web Banking will revolutionise the way customers access their bank account.

“Not only will it be easier than ever to log into your account, we’re helping our customers bank with confidence knowing their accounts are secure.”

The bank has invested in various security features to combat fraud and scams.

Among these is the ANZ CallSafe feature, which enables secure verification during calls to ANZ Plus. Since its introduction in November 2024, CallSafe has facilitated more than 20,000 secure authentications.

Additionally, ANZ plans to introduce the Digital Padlock feature in mid-2025, allowing customers to instantly restrict access to their accounts if they suspect fraudulent activity.

The bank has also established a dedicated team, ANZ First Responders, to assist customers who may have been targeted by cybercriminals. This team has managed around 140,000 calls in the past year, resolving approximately 93% of inquiries on the first contact.

ANZ has developed the Scam Safe suite, which includes various security measures to protect customers from different types of scams.

Customers who maintain the default settings of Scam Safe are reported to be 34 times less likely to fall victim to scams. The Crypto Protect feature alone has intercepted around A$5.5m ($3.54m) in fraudulent investment payments since its launch in April 2024.

In November 2024, five Australian banks teamed up with BioCatch to launch BioCatch Trust Australia, am inter-bank fraud and scams intelligence-sharing network utilising behaviour and device data.

Founding partners include ANZ, Commonwealth Bank of Australia (CBA), National Australia Bank (NAB), Suncorp Bank (Norfina Limited), and Westpac.