NatWest to trial fingerprint payment fob

The fob, which is intended to be kept on your keyring, allows customers to make contactless payments with their fingerprint at existing chip & PIN and contactless terminals.

Customers scan their fingerprint using the fob on each purchase – so if the fob is lost, it wouldn't be possible for someone else to use it. But customers can block it anyway using the NatWest mobile app.

The £100 payment limit on each spend is an increase on the current contactless card maximum of £30.

If the trial is successful, it may be rolled out to customers across Britain. Earlier this year, NatWest ran another pilot, a biometric fingerprint bank card for 200 customers.

David Crawford, head of NatWest's 'effortless payments', said: "After the successful pilot of our biometric debit card, we are looking at how we can further develop the technology and push the boundaries to integrate it into our customers' everyday lives."

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