CommBank mobile app to scan password chip for fast account onboarding

The change, which uses near-field communication to scan the passport’s encrypted chip in the bank’s mobile app, has been tested since January, with more than 2700 people signing up for accounts using their passports.

Commonwealth Bank customer identity and digital security general manager Sascha Thiel says: “We’re now allowing customers to join using one single document type, so they can join the bank in as little as one minute. Historically, we’ve needed multiple forms of identity documents.”

Potential customers must also scan their face using their phone to ensure it matches the photo stored in the passport’s chip.

The feature is available to e-passport holders from any nation, as long as they are in Australia when they apply for an account.

The scheme will be expanded to people outside the country, Thiel says, including international students looking to establish finances before their arrival.

“Later this year, we are looking to support customers migrating into Australia to complete the onboarding process before they arrive,” she says “One of the first administrative hurdles when people are moving countries is how do I open a bank account… so this is another way that will help them settle into life in Australia.”

Australia became one of the first countries to introduce biometric passports in October 2005.

More than 180 nations have since adopted the technology, which includes an encrypted computer chip that can be scanned at close range.