[Android] Biometric should fallback to PIN when it fails

Feedback & Ideas
1

Biometric, especially fingerprint, is not 100% reliable for example when your finger is wet.

Other apps handle this by giving you the option to switch to PIN or automatically switching to PIN after a number of failures.

At the moment the only option with Monzo is to log out. Monzo should give the option to switch to PIN.

2

This already exists on iOS.

I’m guessing you’re on Android? I think it’s handled at the OS level, so that’s why it’s only for iOS as security is handled better.

3

This is an Android request.

4

Just another feature missing from the app for Android. One day soon, it would be nice to just have every feature regardless of what OS you use

1 Like
5

If you search you’ll find the other requests for it. It’s not very popular so don’t get your hopes up.

7

On this one, if Face ID doesn’t recognise you, it does a little wobble, you press “try again” and then if that fails, the “Try again” is replaced with “enter passcode”

I agree, not very seamless!

1 Like
9

Thanks Tom for the GIFs. The Freetrade example is closest. The two FRs you linked to are slightly different.

I’m specifically asking for Android:

  • you can already use a PIN to access the app
  • you can enable biometrics as an optional feature
  • however, when you enable biometrics, there’s no quick way to choose PIN and there’s no fallback to PIN in the cases when biometrics won’t work
  • FR: have a quick way to switch to PIN for accessing the Android app when biometrics is enabled (and, bonus, automatically fallback to PIN after X failed biometric attempts)
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10

I believe the just need to add

setDeviceCredentialAllowed(true)

To the code and then android handles the failback to other device unlock methods

11

I’m not effectively locked out of my Monzo account as my finger print reader has failed 🤦

Any other bank account this wouldn’t be an issue as they do fall back to pin.

So now I need to shout at my android in the hope it decides to fix itself, failing that buying a cheap phone just to access my actual funds 🤷

Screenshot_20210722_175543_co.uk.getmondo
Screenshot_20210722_175543_co.uk.getmondo1080Ă—2240 124 KB

12

Just realised if I uninstall the app that switches off the biometrics, so I’m in now :ok_hand:

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13

Your issue definitely shows the need for being able to fallback to PIN more gracefully. Clearing the data would also flip biometrics back to off but people shouldn’t have to figure that out (plus I can’t imagine most people knowing how to).

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14

I have just tested this with three of my other accounts, so far,

First Direct : prompt you to enter digital password

Halifax: Take you to “memorable information” if fingerprint not recognised. However, if you try to cancel at bio stage, it just scrolls back to bio prompt :thinking::man_shrugging:

Nationwide: Straight to prompt for digits from your passcode

1 Like
15

I have 0 banking apps or in fact any other app on my phone that won’t allow me to fall back to pin just like that. In fact all the ones I’ve got, now my fingerprint doesn’t work, they just fall back instantly without seeing a biometric prompt.

Edit - Tandem doesn’t fall back to a pin, it fires up logged out and then asks me for my phone number which then texts an access pin. Not ideal but it works fast enough.