New fingerprint debit cards are being trialed to remove €30 contactless limit

Typing in your pin could now be a thing of the past for all transactions.

A new trail by NatWest bank in the UK is seeing the introduction of fingerprint debit cards. The cards will contain a copy of the user's fingerprint and to use it, all they'll have to do is simply place their finger over the fingerprint part of their card while waving it at a card machine to complete their transaction. This new form on contactless payment would see customers having more security from identity and card theft as the card would have to be used by the owner to make a contactless transaction. David Crawford, head of effortless payments at NatWest, spoke to The Guardian saying:

“This is the biggest development in card technology in recent years and we are excited to trial the service.”

The trial will see 200 people testing the card this April and if it gets the go-ahead it will then phase a launch throughout the UK. This technology will be similar to Google Pay and Apple Pay where customers can currently tap over €30 by using the fingerprint technology and paying via their smartphones. Customers will initally have to visit their local branches to set up their fingerprint on the card if this plan goes through but, they hope to then change that over time, leaving customers set up remotely. Will this be taken up by Irish banks too in due course?