What is biometric?

Please see below for our FAQs on biometrics.

Register for Biometrics

How to register for face biometrics?

To register your face biometrics you will require a mobile phone (or tablet) with a front facing camera.

Log into your mobile app, then within the settings menu, click 'Biometric approval' and select 'Register now'. Read the privacy statement and confirm if you are happy to proceed.

When it's time to take your photo, align your face in the frame to activate the take photo button. Take the photo, then confirm you are happy with it. The mobile app will confirm the image is stored and you're ready to use biometric approval.

How to register for voice biometrics

To register your voice biometrics you will require a mobile phone (or tablet) with a working microphone. You’ll also need to be registered for face biometrics.

Log into your mobile app, then within the settings menu, click 'Biometric approval' and select ‘Manage biometrics’. You can then select ‘Add’ next to ‘Voice biometrics’. Read the privacy statement and confirm if you are happy to proceed.

You’ll then be asked to record your voice by repeating the on-screen phrase three times. Make sure to select ‘Start recording’ and ‘Stop recording’ each time. Once you’ve recorded the phrase three times, the mobile app will confirm that your voice has been stored and you’re ready to use biometric approval.

Why can’t I register for biometric approval?

This service is being rolled out to our mobile customers. Continue to use your Mobile App as normal and we'll prompt you when its available to you.

This service is not available to customers under the age of 16.

I failed to register my face biometric, how can I improve my chances?

There are a few steps to improve your chances of registering your biometrics:

For face:

Keep your device upright (portrait not landscape) and out directly in front of you (approximately 30 cm/12 inches away from your face), with your face in the frame (blue oval should appear around your face)
Don’t let anything cover your face, like a mask, sunglasses, hats, or even your hands and hair
Choose a well, evenly lit space and a neutral background, try facing a window rather than having a window behind you

For voice:

Make sure you’re in a quiet area with as little background noise as possible
Speak clearly with your usual speaking voice, saying the complete phrase

When registering your biometrics, you will need to have a passcode, FaceID or fingerprint to unlock your device as well as the app passcode.

I failed to use my face biometric, how can I improve my chances?

There are a couple of steps you can take to improve your chances of using your face biometric:

Keep your device upright (portrait not landscape) and out directly in front of you (approximately 30 cm/12 inches away from your face), with your face in the frame (blue oval should appear around your face)
Don’t let anything cover your face, like sunglasses, hats, or even your hands and hair
Choose a well, evenly lit space and a neutral background, try facing a window rather than having a window behind you
If you wear glasses, try removing them to allow the phone to see you clearly

When registering your biometrics, you will need to have a passcode, FaceID or fingerprint to unlock your device as well as the app passcode.

If you have tried all these steps, then please try removing your biometrics by navigating to Biometric approval in the settings menu and then select Manage biometrics followed by face biometrics. You will then be asked to confirm it is really you by using your face. Your biometrics will then be removed.

After removing your face biometrics please register your face again making sure the image is taken in a well, evenly lit space so that it is as clear as possible.

I failed to use my voice biometric, how can I improve my chances

There are a couple of steps you can take to improve your chances of using your voice biometric:

Make sure you’re in a quiet area with as little background noise as possible
Speak clearly with your usual speaking voice, saying the complete phrase
Don’t let anything cover your mouth or muffle your voice

When registering your voice biometrics, you will need to be registered for face biometrics, and have a passcode, FaceID or fingerprint to unlock your device as well as the app passcode.

If you have tried all these steps, then please try removing your biometrics by navigating to Biometric approval in the settings menu and then select Manage biometrics followed by voice biometrics. You will then be asked to confirm it is really you by using your voice. Your biometrics will then be removed.

After removing your voice biometrics please register your voice again making sure to follow the above guidance to make sure your recording is as clear as possible.

What are some warning or error messages I may encounter during registration and/or authentication?

Registration

If the captured photo or recording does not meet the standards required when it is checked during registration, then this will be the warning message that will appear:

Face:

Voice:

If the service is unavailable, then the error shown will be:

Face:

Voice:

Device not compatible - registration

If you receive this message it is because the device you are using to register your biometrics is not compatible with the technology we use for biometric approval. You can try to register using another device.

Microphone access denied

This message will show if you haven’t given the app permission to access your device microphone. You can do this through the settings menu of your device.

Authentication

This error shows when we’ve not been able to check the biometric against the database:

Face:

Voice:

If the quality of the image capture is not sufficient for it to be checked against the stored biometric then this will be the error message that will appear:

Face:

Voice:

You will receive the message 'One attempt left’ on the fourth failed attempt and if there is a fifth attempt that fails, you will be locked out of the app:

Device not compatible – authentication

If you receive this message this is because we have updated the technology we use for Biometric approval. Unfortunately the update is not compatible with the cameras on some older devices. This means you will need to upgrade to a newer device to be able to use Biometric approval.

What are some known issues with biometrics?

Registration

Here are some of the known registration issues:

The confirmation that you can register for biometric approval can take up to 30 seconds after mobile login. Therefore, please come out of biometric approval and then re-enter it if you are seeing the “you cannot register at this time message”
If you are using Online Banking then you will need to log out and log back in after registration and then you will be able to use your biometrics to authorise transactions

Authentication

Authentication can be a little tricky. You should:

Make sure you are in good lighting, without light directly behind you
Look directly at the camera with face in the centre of the oval
Removing glasses can also help

How does biometric approval work?

What can I approve with biometrics?

Biometric approval lets you prove it's really you when you want to:

Make a payment in the mobile app, to someone new or when changing a payee reference
Make an international payment in the mobile app
Change your personal details in the mobile app, such as your home address
Increase your limits
View your PIN
View your card details
Use as an alternative to card readers in Online Banking (you will have 4 minutes to approve or decline the request in their mobile app. If you don’t approve within 4 minutes then the transaction/payment will be cancelled. You need to return to Online Banking after approving the transaction)
Make a payment through Open Banking to new beneficiaries (you will have 4 minutes to approve or decline the request in the mobile app. If you don’t approve within 4 minutes then the transaction/payment will be cancelled. You need to return to Open Banking after approving the transaction)

How does biometric approval work?

When we ask you to use your biometrics to approve something, we’re checking that it’s really you. You will be asked to face the camera, or repeat a phrase. We compare the sample you provide to the one that we have stored on our servers. If it’s a match you can then carry on and finish what you were doing.

What if I don’t want to use biometrics?

That’s okay, you can continue to use the same approval methods, such as the Card Reader, to authenticate your identity.

What’s the difference between these biometrics for the NatWest app and Touch or Face ID?

When you record your fingerprint or face with your device, the fingerprint / face biometric stays in a secure area of that specific device and provides a useful alternative to the traditional passcode / password.

By registering your face biometric with the NatWest app we can match any future authentication attempts on any of your registered devices directly against what we’ve got stored on our servers.

What do I do with my card reader once I have registered for biometrics?

You should retain your card reader as you will still require it to complete some actions.

How do I use my biometrics to process a transaction on Online Banking?

When you are logged into Online Banking and are processing one of the following transactions you will be asked to approve the request on your mobile app if registered for biometrics:

Change mobile number
Make a payment to someone new for the first time
Add payee
Change your payment limits
Bulk payments
Change email address (personal & business)
Change mobile number (business)
Amend bill payee via manage payee
Set up standing order
Amend standing order
International payments
Change password
Change PIN
Alerts

If you have push notifications enabled, you can access the list of requests on your mobile app that have to be approved. If not, you can access them through the home screen.

You should click on the request to approve or decline then you will be asked to return to Online Banking.

I am in Online Banking why can't I use the camera on my laptop to authenticate transactions?

When you use facial biometrics, we ask you to authenticate a transaction, so we can make sure it’s you.

Similar to how the card reader is a separate device used to confirm your card PIN, the mobile app is a separate device used to confirm your biometrics.

How do I use biometrics to login to Anytime Banking?

CF created specifically for UBN as Go-Live was before other brands - DAWR-37515

When you are logging in to Online Banking, you may be asked to approve the login request on your mobile app if registered for biometrics.

Note that you can manage your biometric settings in the mobile app.

Biometrics and my phone

Is my phone compatible for biometric approval?

We’ve made it easy. All you need is a forward-facing camera for face biometrics, and a working microphone for voice biometrics.

There are a limited number of devices that can on sometimes struggle to register or use your biometrics. This is because the device doesn’t have enough processing power or memory.

There are also a limited number of Android devices that we can’t support. If your device is affected by this, you won’t see the biometric approval feature.

What if I change or lose my phone?

Don’t panic. As the biometric is securely stored within NatWest servers and not on the individual app, there’s no potential data loss from losing your phone.

When you set up the NatWest app on a new phone, you’ll be asked to match your face and voice to those that we hold. Then, you’ll be ready to carry on using your biometrics to confirm it’s really you.

Why is Biometric Approval required for small mobile payments?

It is an additional measure to help prevent fraud on your account. By signing up to biometric approval, you are agreeing to introduce further security checks to help stop a fraudster from making payments from your account. Once the payment has been made you will not need to prove your identity again to pay the same payee, unless you choose to change the reference.

About my Biometrics

What happens if I change the way I look?

If you grow your hair long or cut it all off, even if you grow a beard, the technology is looking at the features of your face and the relative positioning to each other. It turns this into a template that we use to match against, so please feel free to be you.

In the unlikely event you do feel a change to how you look requires you to record an updated face biometric with us, then please first remove the existing face biometric and register a new one.

What happens if I have a cold or theres a change in my voice

Voice biometrics works by analysing how you speak, such as rhythm and inflections when you talk. As long as you're able to speak and we can capture a recording, even if your voice is hoarse we'll be able to tell if it's you.

You can also switch to using face if that is more convenient.

Can someone just use a photo of me?

No. The biometric process is sophisticated and secure behind the scenes. It’s not just ‘a photo’. So, don’t worry about someone using a photo to try and match to your face biometric.

Can someone just use a recording of my voice

No. The biometric process is sophisticated, and considers many more things than just the sound of someone's voice. It will be able to tell if someone is playing back a recording, or even using artificial intelligence to mimic someone.

What if I decide I don’t want to use my biometrics anymore?

They’re your biometrics, and you are in control. Simply go to ‘Biometric approval’ in the settings section of the app and select ‘Remove’ next to the biometrics you want to remove. You’ll then be asked one last time to confirm it is really you by using your face or voice for the respective biometric and that’s it. Your biometrics will then be removed from our servers, except your photo and the recording itself, which we'll keep for a period of time for fraud prevention reasons.

You’ll no longer be able to use biometric approval on your NatWest app and will have to use approval methods that aren’t as secure.

Where is my biometric data stored?

We have a Secure Banking Promise to you that means protecting your device and details. Your biometric identity is part of that. We’ll encrypt and store your biometrics within a strong and secure NatWest database that no other business or individual can access.

How long is my biometric data stored for?

When your consent to store your biometrics expires, or if we make changes to the privacy notice, we’ll ask you to opt in again. All you need to do is read and accept the latest privacy notice to opt back in.

What do you mean by biometric data?

Biometrics is the term used for unique physical characteristics such as your fingerprints, face or voice.

We use the latest technology to process the photo of your face, and the recording of your voice to create your biometric data which can be used to confirm it’s really you.

The actual photo of your face and original recording of your voice that you take to register for biometric approval is not biometric data as it remains in its unprocessed original format.

What is biometric?