An improved dual-liveness biometric framework can counter more deepfake threats, ensure compliance, and protect underbanked mobile users.
To secure its infrastructure against evolving cyber threats, a fast-growing digital bank in the Philippines, has announced the enhancement of its previous biometric authentication system after facing increasing challenges from deepfake and biometric spoofing techniques.
UnionDigital Bank serves large segments of the underbanked Filipino population, who rely mainly on mobile devices to access its financial services. With its customers facing rising risks of account takeover and mule activity, the bank sought a more resilient method to protect its customers and comply with the stricter controls emphasized by the country’s central bank.
On 15 October 2025, the bank officially unveiled its upgraded biometric authentication framework featuring dual biometric liveness technologies. These technologies verify whether a user is the legitimate account holder, and detect sophisticated fraud attempts such as deepfakes:
- For lower-risk routine requests such as increasing transaction limits, the bank applies a fast and seamless ‘liveness’ check to minimize friction.
- For higher-risk actions such as users detected logging-in from a new device, a more rigorous ‘liveness’ assessment is used to boost security and prevent unauthorized access.
Key technical aspects of this solution include:
- Enhanced authentication system framework to tailor security levels according to transaction risk
- Dual ‘liveness’ detection methods that enable flexible identity assurance
- Proactive fraud detection capable of identifying AI-driven deepfake attacks
- Seamless user experience for routine transactions to encourage adoption
The bank’s Chief Information Security Officer, Russell Hernandez, said: “Our mission is to uplift the lives of all Filipinos through a secure, trusted, and accessible digital bank… (and) we need a flexible and future-ready solution that balances strong security with user convenience.”
According to Andrew Bud, founder and CEO, iProov, the biometric technology provider behind the solution, “Proving that someone is who they claim to be online is at the heart of digital trust,” to help the bank secure access without compromising ease of use, “which is especially crucial for underbanked communities who rely on mobile devices” for their digital banking transactions.
