The bank's current and new account holders can now sign up for a Tascet Financial Iconn - a digital representation of their identity - in branches, where the vendor's technology will be installed early this year.

To get an Iconn, customers submit fingerprint and facial biometric data as well as their name, address, date and country of birth and gender. Tascet uses this data to generate a 16-digit 'financial security number' which is linked to the customer account. To identify themselves in a branch and carry out transactions, customers then provide their name and fingerprint.

Bob Steen, CEO of Bridge Community Bank, says: "The Financial Iconn approach eliminates many of the hurdles associated with identity. At the end of the day, both the consumer and the bank have the highest degree of confidence in knowing who is on each end of the transaction."