Barclays has collaborated with Hitachi Europe to launch biometric finger vein scanning technology for authenticating online banking transactions.

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The Barclays Biometric Reader is developed with Hitachi’s Finger Vein Authentication Technology (VeinID) – a new method for customer authentication in UK banking.

The technology will enable customers to access their online bank accounts and authorise payments by merely pressing their finger on a scanner plugged into their computer.

It will use infrared lights to scan the veins and blood flow under the skin to confirm the user’s identity.

The bank said that the technology will be initially available to its corporate banking clients from 2015.

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Hitachi’s VeinID is already used by banks for password replacement, single sign on and ATM machines, in Japan, North America and Europe.

The launch of the biometric reader follows on from the bank’s successful introduction of voice biometrics for its wealth customers to identify themselves on phone calls, removing the need for passwords or security questions.

Ashok Vaswani, CEO Barclays Personal and Corporate Banking, said: "This solution is at the leading edge of innovation and is in direct response to client concerns about the threat of online fraud while making our customers’ lives easier through its convenience.

"We have shown the technology to a range of businesses and the interest and enthusiasm for the product is tremendous. The technology has also been tested by Hitachi for many years and it will be game-changing for UK businesses and consumers."