In brief: Westpac adds fingerprint sign-in for mobile app

A new version of Westpac's 'Westpac Live' mobile app will allow customers to log in using their fingerprint on a range of Android and iOS devices, the bank announced today.

The bank said that support for biometric authentication would be rolled out in January.

Logging in using a fingerprint will be supported on the Android-based Samsung Galaxy S5 and Note 4, as well as Apple's iPhone 5S, iPhone 6 and iPhone 6 Plus.

"Over half of our digitally active customers are using mobile banking and now doing more than $50 billion worth of transactions each year," Jason Yetton, group executive, Westpac Retail, said in a statement.

Westpac Group CEO Gail Kelly, who will leave her role in February, said earlier this year that 2.7 million of the bank's customers were using the platform.