When Apple talks, who doesn't listen? In mid-September theCupertino, Calif., tech behemoth announced it would makefingerprint authentication available on its new iPhone 5S andimmediately, across financial services, the question was raised:Will this impact mobile banking logins?

At the crux is the realization that the traditionalusername/password login is broken. There are way too manycompromised logins and thus a rush to perfect other forms ofauthentication, often biometric.

There had been a logjam of biometric formats – voice, eyeball, fingerprint all vied forattention – but just maybe Apple's vote for fingerprints is thegame changer. Financial technology expert Jim Marous said that after Apple's fingerprint announcement hesurveyed a cross section of financial tech experts and the opinionthat came back was that “this will be the tipping point forfingerprints.”

A big plus of fingerprints: You always carry your finger withyou and generally it remains unaffected by transient factors (suchas a bad cold that can play havoc with voice recognition or anallergy attack that can cause eyeballs to get unrecognizablyred).

Understand this, Apple's Touch ID is a limited-purpose tool.It's a way to log in to an iPhone (replacing the four digitpasscode which only an estimated one in two users ever activate).It also can be used for purchases in Apple's Apps Store and iTunes.Elsewhere – no. “Apple is limiting the use cases because they knowthey will tweak Touch ID,” said Vince Arneja, a vice president at Bethesda, Md.-based security firmArxan Technologies.

Another fact: Experts consulted by Credit Union Timescould not name a single US credit union that deploys fingerprinttechnologies in member facing applications. Many hundreds use fingerprint tools with employees (to gain entry toa vault, for instance, or to log into a computer). Redwood City,Calif., fingerprint company DigitalPersona alone claims “100 to 200” credit unioncustomers, per spokeswoman Lori Paxton, but she acknowledged allthe uses have been employee facing.

Until now, credit unions have stayed away from asking members toauthenticate themselves with fingerprints because it somehow seemedclinical, off-putting. Security expert Robert Siciliano said, “Consumers have been and are still a littlescared of biometrics. Fingerprints are considered private and ifthey are hacked then what? “

That fear may vanish with Apple's involvement, said Jay McLaughlin, chief security officer at Austin, Texas-basedQ2ebanking. “Touch ID will be viewed as a neat feature, not anannoyance,” predicted McLaughlin. “People will think this is cool,”mainly because Apple has proven genius in persuading millions thatwherever it goes, there is cool.”

Added Siciliano: “[Touch ID is] the first step in millions ofconsumers getting used to giving up a fingerprint forauthentication. This hardware will undoubtedly put consumers' mindsto rest that it's OK to make a purchase using a fingerprint.”

That sets the stage for where this potentially gets interestingfor credit unions. Richard Henderson, security strategist for Fortinet's FortiGuard Labs,wrote in an email: “The wide-scale implementation of a biometricauthentication device on this scale, coupled with Apple's famousattention to ease-of-use interface design, means that we may be onthe cusp of finally moving away from simple single-factorauthentication into multi-factor authentication.”

Arneja, too, notes that his company, Arxan, is seeingfast-rising interest on the part of financial institutions inpossibly deploying fingerprint authentication technologies incustomer/member uses. “We are seeing huge interest,” he said,adding that it probably will be a matter of short weeks beforeleading Android smartphone makers – such as Samsung andGoogle-owned Motorola – also announce that fingerprint technologiesare on the way to those phones.

Henderson pointed the way to the next chapter: “Simple taskssuch as unlocking your phone generally don't need two-factorauthentication, but logging on to your mobile banking client wouldbe a perfect candidate for extension of the sensor: using yourpassword plus being asked to scan your finger would likely preventall but the most determined or talented malware authors fromstealing your banking credentials.”

Just maybe, once Apple (and its Android fellow travelers)acclimates users to fingerprints, it is entirely possible thatmobile banking login will become multi-factor, involving a username, perhaps device authentication (mobile phones have unique IDsthat appropriately equipped systems can read), possibly anold-fashioned password, and, lastly, a fingerprint. Time elapsedmight be a tick more than today's login, but the payoff would bedramatically better security.

That is why, suddenly, there is abundant optimism that we justmay be very near a dramatic upgrading of mobile bankingsecurity.