One of the Big Four banks is scrapping passwords in a ‘revolutionary’ change for its online customers.
ANZ is the first n bank to offer its customers internet banking without the need for passwords, for its digital arm, ANZ Plus.
From mid-2025, one million ANZ Plus customers can choose to log in to internet banking via two different verification methods.
They can do it by using a passkey, which is their fingerprint, face or mobile device PIN, or by entering their mobile phone number and approving a log-in request sent to their ANZ Plus app.
Maile Carnegie, ANZ Group’s Executive for Retail, said scrapping passwords and introducing the new access methods would offer an extra layer of security.
‘We’re helping prevent customer log-in details from the risk of data breaches or phishing attacks, providing an extra layer of protection, and one less thing for customers to worry about when it comes to banking security,’ she said.
The bank claimed removing passwords would help protect customers from malware attacks including Infostealer, where passwords were at risk of infection and breaches.
Cyber intelligence researchers Dvuln revealed more than 31,000 passwords belonging to customers of the Big Four banks were shared between cybercriminals online, including 7,000 ANZ customers.
It was because devices were unknowingly infected with Infostealer malware.
ANZ intends to run its entire retail bank on ANZ Plus by 2029 for its six million customers and its one million Suncorp banking customers.
Another of the Big Four banks, NAB, is planning to phase out passwords for internet banking within the next five years.
NAB chief security officer Sandro Bucchianer said passwords were ‘terrible’ and had become progressively more risky as cybersecurity breaches become more widespread.
Identity theft had also increased as many people used the same password across multiple websites, some of which have systems that are much easier to hack than those of a bank.
Commonwealth Bank recently announced multi-factor authentication for its customers who log in to NetBank.
Customers who use the CommBank app receive a confirmation text each time an effort is made to log in to web banking.