Hand scanners give customers easy access to safe deposit vaults

Chris Jones

Monday, June 3, 2002 | 11:15 a.m.

Biometrics are gradually changing the way customers at two of Nevada's largest banks -- Bank of America and Nevada State Bank -- conduct business.

Dan Holt, vice president of property management for Nevada State Bank, said his bank will soon have biometric hand scanners at more than 25 branches. The devices replace the master keys employees typically use to let customers inside a safety deposit box vault.

"There was a lot of concern from people who had to stand in line and wait for a teller to let them into the safety deposit box area, as well as to let them back into the vault when it was time to put their box away," Holt said. "With scanners, customers don't have to wait on anyone."

Bank of America Spokeswoman Gillian Breidenbach said her company is also deploying hand scanners at branches across the United States and hopes to have seven Nevada sites equipped with the devices by the end of this year.

"It's amazing technology and the customers have really taken to it," Breidenbach said.

To access the biometrics system, bank customers must first open a safety deposit box account at a branch equipped with a scanning device, Holt said. After a box is assigned, the customer's hand is scanned and the system records a unique record based upon its size, width and other identifying traits.

To enter a vault, customers must enter a personal identification number (PIN) that tells the system which handprint it should identify. The customer would then place a hand over a reader, which would automatically open the vault doors if the handprint and PIN match.

Customers would still need a traditional key to remove and open their safety deposit box, Holt said.

Las Vegas resident Aracely Escalona said she visits her safety deposit box at Nevada State Bank twice each week to store and retrieve items for her business. She said the hand scanners are a huge improvement over keys.

"It's much more convenient for me," Escalona said. "Before this was installed, I had to wait in line to get a teller who could let me in. Now I come and go as I please."

In addition to convenience, Holt said the devices also improve security by automatically recording the dates and times users access the system. For privacy purposes, however, the bank does not monitor what items customers store in their boxes.

Nevada State installed its first hand scanner at a branch in Boulder City in summer 1999. Holt said three more branches were equipped with the devices shortly thereafter before the bank temporarily halted their installation to await feedback.

After the devices were well-received by both customers and bank employees, Holt said Nevada State began placing hand scanners at additional branches late last year.

So far, Holt said 12 or 13 new hand scanners have been installed. The bank hopes to complete its planned rollout as the equipment becomes available from Diebold, an Ohio-based manufacturer of ATMs and other bank hardware.

"The system we're doing is somewhat new in the banking industry, so we're installing the systems as the equipment arrives," said Holt, who added each scanner costs about $15,000 to install.

Breidenbach said Bank of America has already equipped three Las Vegas-area branches with hand scanners made by Fairfield, Ohio-based Hamilton Safe. It plans to retrofit three more local branches later this year and will install the scanners at most new branches it opens in the state.

Representatives from Wells Fargo and U.S. Bank said their organizations have no current plans to add hand scanners at their Nevada branches.

Still, analysts from Meridien Research, a Massachusetts-based company that monitors technology trends among financial institutions, said interest in biometric technologies has picked up significantly since last year's terrorist attacks on the East Coast. Bankers are increasingly using voice recognition and eye scanners to verify the identity of their customers, the firm said.

In addition, biometric technologies are already in use at many prominent Las Vegas casinos, said Beverly Griffin, co-owner of Las Vegas-based Griffin Investigations.

Griffin, whose company supplies facial recognition software, estimates as many as half of Southern Nevada's casinos now use biometric technology to identify the faces of card cheats or other undesirables.

Several airports around the world also use biometrics to identify passengers, airport employees or potential threats, although such devices are not currently used at McCarran International Airport, said airport spokeswoman Hilarie Grey.