Most business owners and their teams check their banking on a phone. If that phone is lost, stolen or picked up by the wrong person, the only thing standing between a fraudster and the account can be a a four- or six-digit passcode.
Turning on Face ID or fingerprint login adds a second layer that's much harder to copy or guess.
Why biometrics matter
- A passcode can be watched over your shoulder, guessed or shared. Your face or fingerprint can't be read out over the phone or typed in by someone else.
- Phones get lost or stolen, often in busy places or on the move. Without biometrics, anyone who knows or sees the passcode can get in.
- A fraudster doesn't need to beat your strongest control. They only need the weakest one, and for many people that's a simple passcode.
- Everyone who uses a phone for business banking is another way in, so the protection needs to be on every device, not just yours.
What Face ID or fingerprint login actually means
Face ID, fingerprint and face unlock are built into most modern Apple and Android phones. They aren't settings in your banking app, they're set up on the phone itself. Your phone then uses them to confirm it's really you before it unlocks, and before it opens apps that support it.
- Face ID or face unlock uses a scan of your face to unlock the phone or approve a login.
- Fingerprint unlock uses a registered fingerprint to do the same job.
- Your passcode is still the backup. If your face or fingerprint isn't recognised, the phone asks for it, so it needs to be strong.
Why this control works
Most phone-related fraud doesn't start with sophisticated hacking. It starts with a simple gap: a phone left unlocked on a desk, a passcode someone watched being typed in, or a phone lost on a train that was protected by 1234. Biometrics close the most common of those gaps, because the phone can't be opened by someone who merely knows or has seen the code.
It's worth being clear about what it doesn't do. Biometrics protect against someone else getting into your phone or app. They can't protect you if you're tricked into approving something yourself, such as a payment or login prompt while a caller is talking you through it. If anyone asks you to approve something on a call, press the red button: pause, hang up and check independently.
Examples of how this looks in practice
- A lost phone: a director leaves their phone in a taxi. Without Face ID or fingerprint, whoever finds it only needs the passcode, which could be guessed or may already have been seen. With biometrics on, they hit a wall.
- A shared or left-lying device: a team member steps away from their desk with their phone unlocked. Having biometrics and an auto-lock set means it locks itself quickly and can't be reopened by anyone else.
Won't this slow my team down?
No. Unlocking with your face or fingerprint is usually quicker than typing a passcode. Setup takes a couple of minutes per device and only needs doing once.
How to set it up and keep it secure
- Turn it on in your phone's settings.
- On iPhone, look for Face ID & Passcode or Touch ID & Passcode.
- On Android, look under Security or Biometrics, though exact names vary by phone.
- Set a strong passcode as the backup, at least six digits and not something obvious like a birthday or a repeating number.
- Set your phone to lock automatically after a short time, such as 30 seconds or one minute.
- Only register your own face and fingerprints. Anyone else registered on the phone can unlock it, and open anything that uses biometrics.
- Turn on a find-my-device feature, such as Find My on iPhone or Find Hub on Android, so you can lock or wipe a lost phone remotely.
- Report lost or stolen phones to your bank straight away. They can lock your account and/or change your security details.
Summary
Face ID and fingerprint login takes minutes to set up and closes one of the easiest routes into a business account: a phone that anyone could open with a guessed passcode.
It works best alongside the other layers, like reviewing access and second payment approvals, and with one rule that no setting can replace.
And always remember: if someone's pushing you to approve something, stop and check first.
Worried about fraud? Visit our Fraud Centre for immediate help and further advice.
