Clients in Asia, Africa and the Middle East are set to benefit from a roll out of fingerprint and voice biometric technologies from Standard Chartered.

Set to reach more than five million clients, Standard Chartered’s roll-out of biometric technology will be the most extensive by any international bank, and target clients in Asia, Africa and the Middle East.  Clients will be able to access bank balances, cards and investments on-the-go, using fingerprint recognition to instantly access the mobile banking services.

The voice biometric technology used by the bank is able to capture the physical and behavioural characteristics of clients’ voices, working from the size and shape of the vocal tract, mouth and teeth, as well as speaking rhythm and accent.

Singapore has already experienced a local launch of the new technology, with the bank to introduce voice biometrics for clients in India and the UAE by the end of the year, before rolling them out across Malaysia, China, Ghana, Tanzania, Hong Kong, Uganda, Zambia, Pakistan, Kenya, Zimbabwe and Pakistan.

Standard Chartered chief executive of retail banking, Karen Fawcett, said the technology would allow clients full banking capabilities constantly and from any location.

“Fingerprint and voice biometric technologies give out clients more convenience and  security when they want to access their bank balances, cards and investments, wherever they are and whenever they want,” she said.

“We are bringing the latest digital technologies to all our markets so that we can offer easy, convenient and secure banking to our clients.”