BNZ simplifies logging in on mobile app

BNZ customers can now login to the company's mobile app securely without having to carry around a NetGuard card, BNZ announced today.



Previously users had to carry a card with a grid of letters and numbers on it and match the characters to the on-screen prompt in order to log in, which made the login process more secure, but significantly more cumbersome.

However the new system will be just as secure as the old system, BNZ's online service manager Nick Fantham said.

"Before this changed, customers who needed to log in to our internet banking services and iPhone and Android apps - all of our mobile services - needed to along with their access code and password, complete a challenge using a NetGuard card," he said.

"So what we've done with this development is remove the need to enter the NetGuard card coordinates to log in all the time, and customers can log in with just their password."

BNZ has implemented what Fantham called "virtual token" technology, where two-factor authentication is integrated into the banking app itself. The app generates a unique security code for each session without the need for users to input extra data.

Customers will have to complete an activation process after first downloading the app, but will only have to put in a password afterward.

This links the app to the username, which also means that each customer will be able to have only a single BNZ app on a single phone. Attempting to log in using someone elses phone and BNZ app wouldn't work because it would have the wrong secure token.