TAIPEI (Taiwan News) — Taiwan Cooperative Bank (TCB) announced plans Friday (Oct. 28) to have at least one biometric “finger vein” ATM at each branch by April 2023 as part of a fintech initiative.

The bank is speeding up its efforts to tap into fintech and digital finance, said Lei Chung-dar (雷仲達), chairman of Taiwan Cooperative Financial Holding at Fintech Taipei 2022. Measures include the introduction of mobile bank apps and robotic process automation.

TCB eyes installing 270 ATMs using finger vein authentication, per CNA, becoming one of the few bank groups in Taiwan to have accessed the technology. The tech involves detecting the unique pattern of one’s veins using infrared light for identity verification. This is touted as more fraud-proof than fingerprints because they are beneath the skin.

Banks in Taiwan are riding the wave of cardless withdrawals, with CTBC Bank leading in rolling out finger vein ATMs in 2016. In a 2020 study, CTBC said males accounted for 65% of its 1 million customers who had set up cardless service settings and 40% aged 20-29, per Liberty Times.

In June, Bank SinoPac introduced PalmSecure, another biometric authentication technology, for its 125 branches across Taiwan. The palm vein pattern recognition-based tech is billed as even more secure than the finger version, which would be used for ATMs and as an alternative for personal seals, wrote China Times.