Biometrics -- How United Bankers' Bank Ensures Customer Authentication Online -- Correspondent bank taps fingerprint-recognition system for secure online transactions.
April 2, 2004 1:48pm
Bank Systems & Technology
United Bankers' Bank (UBB, part of United Bankers' Bancorporation, combined $7.8 billion in assets) officials knew they had to move carefully when they started thinking in 2001 about providing online access for the bank's customers - other banks. UBB focuses on correspondent services, and says it ranks among the largest correspondent banks in the Federal Reserve's 9th District.
"Our customers are banks, and that means they are moving a lot of money around," says Daren Mehl, assistant vice president of information technology at UBB in Bloomington, Minn. "Before we started doing wire transfers and automated clearing online, we wanted to make sure we could authenticate that the users of the system are who they say they are."
To do that, UBB needed a reliable authentication system that customers would find easy to use. Bank officials ultimately chose U.are.U Online, a fingerprint-recognition system made by Redwood City, Calif.-based DigitalPersona, Inc., in 2002. The rollout began in November 2003, allowing UBB customers to automatically log onto UBB's Web site with the touch of a finger, and without passwords.
Previously, the bank had been using a proprietary dial-in network with passwords for customers. While it had not caused problems, Mehl says, "The technology had changed. Customers wanted us to move online."
UBB first considered three authentication options: smart cards, tokens and biometrics. "We ruled out smart cards right away, because it is so expensive," Mehl says. Smart cards and tokens also carry a security risk because they can be passed to somebody else, which ruled out the latter, Mehl explains.
So that left biometrics and fingerprints as the best technological choice. "You cannot pass your finger to someone and say, 'Can you log on for me?' " Mehl says. UBB considered a few other vendors, but DigitalPersona had an advantage: The bank had used its U.are.U Pro for Active Directory fingerprint-recognition technology on its own employees' desktops since 2000, and it worked well. UBB proceeded to build the Web site and its interface with the bank's internal system. "It took only a month to integrate the authentication system, if that," Mehl says.
Customer Buy-In
Following four months of beta testing, rollout of the new technology to 25 customers a week began in November. "To help buy-in into the program, we did buy one [U.are.U Online] system for each customer, just to get them going," Mehl says. Those that want extra sensors for additional computers can buy them. Currently, UBB has 322 customers on the system, out of the 360-plus customers that the bank wants to transition to it. "By the end of March, we plan to have every single customer signed," Mehl says.
Asked about the project's challenges, Mehl mentions that he and his colleagues first had to learn how DigitalPersona's system works, but, "Once we figured out the intricacies of the product, it really was not that difficult to integrate. It used our existing technology," he says. But some customers had reservations about Big Brother watching, he says. "We had to teach customers that it is not actually storing your fingerprints."
In the end, bank officials are pleased with U.are.U Online. Mehl cites the "security, peace of mind and ease of use for customers." When doing transactions online, he adds, the bank's concern is "liability and security and protecting our image, our name."
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Snapshot
Institution: United Bankers' Bank (UBB, Bloomington, Minn.), part of United Bankers' Bancorporation.
Assets: Combined $7.8 billion.
Business Challenge: Provide secure online transactions.
Solution: DigitalPersona, Inc.'s (Redwood City, Calif.) U.are.U Online fingerprint-recognition system.
banktech.com
Copyright (c) 2004 CMP Media LLC
Copyright © 2004 CMP Media LLC
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