Qatar’s first private bank, Commercial Bank QSC, is bringing biometric authentication to its ATMs, care of NCR Corporation and 01 Systems.

In a statement announcing the move, NCR and 01 Systems said that the finger vein scanning technology will be used by the bank “to speed-up authentication and accelerate ATM transactions,” suggesting that biometric authentication will replace PINs and passwords on Commercial Bank ATMs. Commenting on the integration, Commercial Bank COO Samir Sheikh called NCR’s finger vein biometric technology “the first-to-market innovation that will give customers easy, secure access to our ATM machines and will set a new authentication technology standard to protect our customers’ accounts.”

Commercial Bank’s move may be part of a larger, emerging trend as biometric ATMs start to appear around the world. India’s DCB Bank, for example, recently expanded its own biometric ATM program, and while that country may be uniquely receptive to biometric technology thanks to its Aadhaar national ID program, prominent ATM maker Diebold has also been shopping around its own biometric ATM concept, which uses iris recognition.

Commercial Bank’s commission of NCR’s biometric technology is also part of a larger deal between the companies, with NCR committing to also providing software and ‘omni-channel technologies’ to Commercial Bank as part of a multi-year agreement.

–