America’s Credit Union is moving away from passwords toward biometric solutions and extending its partnership with fintech company Access Softek to its back-office security protocols in order to increase fraud-detection capabilities.

The DuPont, Wash.-based credit union had previously integrated Access Softek’s biometric offering into its call center operations, and the security upgrades are planned to be fully completed by yearend.

The measures that have already been implemented, such as screening outgoing calls for identity verification, have yet to yield issues with the bank’s customer base, Aimee Doherty, senior vice president of service operations at the $700 million credit union, told Bank Automation News.

“It’s very easy to use,” Doherty said of the biometric technology. “For those who have had a hard time with it, or for the older generation, we have other methods they can use. But our younger generation, they think that technology like this is keeping us — as a financial institution — relevant.”

Much like the changes the bank embraced in its call center, customers can log into their accounts using fingerprint and facial recognition technology. Doherty added that the technology is “very easy to implement and very easy to use,” allowing consumers to skip unnecessary steps, like verification questions.

Currently, bank employees are becoming familiar with the new biometric software through specific use cases, and the company is allowing the full adoption of the solution to come “organically,” Doherty said.

The next phase for America’s Credit Union is a back-office implementation of the software to identify and prevent potential account takeovers and fraudulent activity. The biometric solution adds another layer of security for members, giving them peace of mind that their sensitive banking information will remain safe, Doherty noted.

With the integration of biometric security assisting with both enhancing customer experiences and preventing fraud, Doherty says America’s Credit Union plans to make the new solutions the focal point of its digital initiative moving forward.

“In order for us to be more efficient, we have to make [using the new technology] a standard practice,” she told BAN.

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