NAB to require facial biometrics for new customers

Customers will be required to scan an identification document and face match.

The National Australia Bank (NAB) announced that new customers will be asked to take a selfie when opening an account and product online beginning September.

The initiative aims to reduce fraud such as identity theft, the Australian bank said in an announcement on 26 August 2025.

New customers will also be required to scan their identification document like a driver’s license or passport, and hold their mobile phone up to their face to match their image.

This new measure will be rolled out across select products beginning September, with further expansion into additional products and account types planned over the coming months.

NAB expects that this initiative will make it harder for criminals to open fraudulent accounts or apply for fraudulent credit cards using documents they’ve stolen from the dark web or from someone’s letter box, said Les Matheson, chief operation officer, NAB Group.

NAB already uses biometric technology in other ways with about 2 million customers a month using FaceID or fingerprints to log in to the NAB app or internet banking.

“We still have more to do, but this is a simple and fast way we can help protect customers against fraud and scams,” Matheson said.