KUALA LUMPUR (Oct 8): Hong Leong Bank Bhd (HLB) and Hong Leong Islamic Bank Bhd (HLIB) have launched a biometric fingerprint authentication payment function on Connect, its mobile banking application.

The biometric payment authentication function, the first in the country according to HLB in a statement today, is expected to help boost its digital banking user base.

HLB is expecting a 32% growth in its digital banking user base, supported by a 72% increase in new user registrations for Hong Leong Connect Online, said HLIB managing director and chief executive officer Raja Teh Maimunah Raja Abdul Aziz.

Users and downloads of the Hong Leong Connect mobile application is also expected to grow by 42%, she said.

"Before this, mobile banking apps using biometric authentication only allowed users to check balances. So with Hong Leong Connect on your mobile devices, you can even leave your wallet behind," she added.

"The bank has experienced a three-digit percentage increase in the adoption of our online and mobile banking platforms since the release of various digital offering over the past 18 months, among new and existing customers," noted HLB's digital innovation and transactional banking (retail) division general manager, Galvin Yeo.

Hong Leong Connect’s biometric authentication function enables users to access and perform an array of services, which include checking balances, transferring funds, cardless ATM withdrawals, as well as retail merchant payments.

The function is currently available on smartphone models with factory-fitted biometric scanning capabilities, such as Apple devices (iPhone 5s and above) and Android devices (Samsung Galaxy S6 and above running on OS 5.11 and above).

HLB said customers must first enable the touch ID or fingerprint feature on their mobile device and register their fingerprint on the same device, before using the bank's biometric authentication function on Connect.

As an additional security feature, transactions which exceed the RM200 limit will require customers to also input their password for the transaction to be confirmed.

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