Customers of the Royal Bank of Scotland have started a three-month national trial of the first biometric fob using fingerprint technology.

The fob allows contactless payments up to £100 without a bank card or mobile phone and there is no need to remember a PIN.

A total of 250 customers are taking part in the trial which the bank sees as pushing the boundaries of technology, while increasing the security of the payments.

No hardware changes are needed to accept biometric fobs at the point of sale, so customers can use the fobs at existing contactless and chip and PIN terminals.

When a customer presents a fob, a light indicates that the fingerprint has been matched successfully.

The bank's Jeni Mundy said: “Following the launch of the UK’s first biometric debit card earlier this year, we are again pleased to collaborate with NatWest on this pilot.

"Our research tells us that people have a strong interest in biometric technologies which can make their lives easier as well as increasing the security of their payments. At Visa we are constantly looking for ways to innovate with our partners to give consumers greater choices in how they pay.”