Last month it started requiring all new customers to leave a thumbprint when opening an account. But the paper says that civil libertarians and some customers are howling. In an interview with the Sun-Sentinel, Haines said the fingerprinting raises privacy questions, as banks retain yet more personal information on their customers. The procedure is quick and low-tech for the banks. Tellers keep them next to pens or send them to motorists through drive-through vacuum tubes.
Customers press their right thumb onto the pad, then mark the check next to their endorsement.
If a check turns out to be fraudulent or expired, the bank can easily prosecute with the thumbprint. The paper said that the fingerprinting solution was the brainchild of the Texas Bankers Association, which sold its program to the Florida Bankers Association and more than 20 other states last year.