Ålandsbanken
Seamless Account Recovery for modern banking users, enabled by Crosskey and Signicat
When Ålandsbanken set out to improve access to its digital services, it looked to its long-standing platform partner, Crosskey and trusted identity provider Signicat. Together, they delivered a smoother, faster way for customers to regain access to their accounts—without branch visits or long support queues.
Challenge
A physical method in a digital world
Ålandsbanken customers, like many in the Finnish banking sector, were facing a familiar challenge before the introduction of Signicat’s Account Recovery feature - access to digital banking relied on physical code table—a legacy method using printed coordinate grids, for both initial setup and account recovery. Losing the code table meant being locked out of the app or internet bank, with few quick options for recovery.
Customers were forced to either wait for a new code table by mail or travel to a branch—sometimes hours away. For rural customers, this was more than an inconvenience. It meant stress, delays and a complete halt in access to critical banking services.
Solution
Secure, self-service account recovery in seconds, not days
To modernise account recovery, Crosskey introduced Signicat’s Account Recovery feature to Ålandsbanken. When setting up digital banking on their device, customers created a recovery code. If the device was lost, they simply entered the code on a new device to restore access—no support calls or branch visits needed.
The results were immediate: the solution led to drastically fewer calls to customer support and a smoother experience —at home or abroad.
“A colleague’s son recently used the Account Recovery feature while abroad, says Jonas Abrahamsson, Product Manager at Crosskey. He was able to regain access quickly and smoothly, without any interaction with Ålandsbanken. His reaction said it all: ‘This is awesome.’
Result
Frictionless recovery, happier customers
The new solution has made life easier for customers and bank:
- 25% of Ålandsbanken’s customers have proactively activated the feature.
- 2% have used it in the last 6 months and 6% over the past year – reflecting real- life recovery patterns – all resolved successfully.
- Support calls related to recovery have dropped significantly.
And when it comes to customer sentiment? Silence says it all.
“We haven’t had complaints,” says Jonas. “That’s a good thing. If people were unhappy, we’d hear about it.”
From codes to convenience – the shift to biometrics
Building on the success of the current solution, Signicat has taken account recovery to the next level with biometrics, replacing the code with Face Authentication. It’s simpler, more intuitive and doesn’t rely on memory.
“Biometric recovery is a natural evolution,” says Jonas. “It keeps the process secure, but even easier for the customers.”
Collaboration and progress
The decision to implement Account Recovery didn’t come from a crisis—it came from proactive product development and regular collaboration between Signicat and Crosskey.
“The collaboration with Signicat is strong. The products are reliable, the support is solid and we’re already exploring the next steps,” says Jonas. “We’re excited to keep improving the digital banking experience—together.”