SINGAPORE - For the first time in Singapore, bank customers can now access their accounts using fingerprint recognition technology.

On Tuesday, OCBC launched a service for customers who own an iOS device that incorporates Apple's Touch ID fingerprint sensors, so they can view their balances - bank accounts, cards and investment - on their smartphones without having to log in to mobile banking with usernames and passwords.

Customers need to make only a one-time activation by keying in their OCBC Mobile Banking access code and PIN.

Thereafter, they only need to place their finger on the home button to view their account balances. All account numbers displayed are partially masked with only the last four digits of the account numbers revealed.

A spokesman said the bank does not store any account numbers, balances or other related information on the phone. No other financial transactions can be performed using fingerprint recognition technology.

OCBC said its active mobile banking customer base grew 53 per cent over the past year, and the number of financial transactions on mobile banking doubled.