Bank of Montreal, Mastercard launch biometric corporate cards

TORONTO (Reuters) - Bank of Montreal (Toronto:BMO.TO - News), Canada's fourth largest lender, said on Wednesday that it had launched the first biometric corporate card program in Canada and the United States in partnership with Mastercard (NYSE:MA - News).

BMO and Mastercard said the technology will enable cardholders to verify transactions using facial recognition and fingerprint biometrics when making online purchases.

In a statement, they said the introduction of the technology will increase security when making payments that do not include a face-to-face interaction. The program will begin with the issue of corporate cards incorporating the technology to BMO employees in Canada and the United States.

Banks' security procedures are coming under scrutiny amid evidence of increased attacks from sophisticated hackers.

"Mitigating the risk of fraud is always our top priority, and the inclusion of this technology is going to make payment authentication easier and strengthen the security of the entire payments ecosystem," said Steve Pedersen, vice president of North American corporate card products at BMO.

British bank Barclays launched a finger scanner for corporate clients in 2014 and said it would role out voice recognition for retail clients.

(Reporting by Matt Scuffham; Editing by Bill Trott)