Banks

Biometric requirements (usually facial recognition but sometimes also voice identification) for opening an account with various banks and building societies.

Requirements may be different if you're not a UK citizen.

Bank of Scotland

(Same group as Lloyds and Halifax)

Switched online from another bank in August 2026, and they didn't require ANY identification at all. I never had to upload a copy of my passport. Never went into a branch. Really odd.

Log in with username and password. They did require a phone number and no option was provided for a physical 2fa device like some other banks provide, so annoyingly I had to get an SMS verification code every time I wanted to log in.

Barclays

Tried to switch in August 2026 for a switch bonus valid only for opening an account in the mobile app. Phone number required, and then they wanted to scan my face in the mobile app. The alternative option they provided was to go into a branch to show your ID. I went into a branch and was told I needed to book an appointment for this. I booked an appointment for a few days later, but it turned out that they wanted to point a webcam with me and do basically the same face scanning thing as in the mobile app. They said they just needed to take a photo of me holding my passport to prove I was there, but I declined and left.

Co-op Bank

You’ll also need to verify your identity

take a quick picture of yourself (a selfie) to verify your ID

If you don't have the photo ID we have listed or can't take a photo, you can talk to us about opening an account instead.

Unclear if the alternative "talk to us" option means avoiding biometrics, or merely going into a branch and having them scan your face for you (which Barclays does)

HSBC

The first thing the app does after phone number SMS verification is trying to send you straight into the ID scan. No reference number to open in branch, so unless they're going to correlate your phone number as an identifier for what little of an account you've already created (not even been asked for name yet), it's highly unlikely that you'd be able to have your ID checked in branch and this still qualify as opening an account through the app (to get the switch bonus).

Might still be able to open an account with them in-branch though without biometrics scan? Still unknown for now. Be careful.

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Nationwide

Signed up as a brand new customer in September 2026. After performing a hard credit check, they asked to do a face scan in order to access internet banking straight away, but this is optional and you can just decline it and they'll send you your login details in the post instead. They did not even require uploading details of any legal identification for the application to open an account (though they might request this later and presumably it's all subject to how confident they are in your identity from the magic background checking).

They try to push SMS codes and their mobile app, but while they do require a phone number, you don't need continuous access to it as long as you have their little card reader 2fa gadget that you can insert your debit card into to get login and verification codes.

NatWest

(Same policies as Royal Bank of Scotland. Ulster Bank is also a member of this banking group)

No direct experience, but both NatWest and Royal Bank of Scotland have nearly identical pages saying upfront that they will scan your face. You can, apparently, make a phone call to their "specialist team" to discuss opening an account without biometrics. Unclear if this method retains switch bonus eligibility.

See also

• Avoiding Facial Recognition