Forget PINs, soon you'll be able drawing money out using your EYES: Retinal scanning to be trialled by Citigroup Citigroup is testing new technology that will allow customers to withdraw money using retinal scanning.

The bank wants to replace PIN codes with biometric scanners that could identify customers using only their eyes.

Customers would use a smartphone app to key in the amount they want to draw out ahead of time.

As they approached the ATM, the app would link up to the machine and use retinal scanning to confirm the customer identity.

The ATM would then release the cash, providing the scanner recognises the individual.

Citigroup said the retinal scans would take 15 seconds to complete compared to 45 seconds for traditional transactions.

It would, they claim, be more secure and would mean that cards could never be skimmed at an ATM again.

The Wall St Journal reported that Citigroup has not set a date for when the retinal scanners would be introduced.

The bank may have to overcome privacy concerns as some customers may be uncomfortable giving their biometric data to such an institution.

Citigroup says it has been working with cash machine manufacturer Diebold and has confirmed that preliminary scanning tests have been carried out on 30 consumers in a laboratory at it head office in New York.

The test cash machines do not even need a screen or a touchpad as all the information is loaded by the app ahead of time.

Citigroup is not the only financial institution testing out cardless cash machines - JP Morgan Chase and Bank of America are working on similar technology.

The moves comes in response to US credit scoring firm FICO announcing that in May this year the number of attacks on debit cards used at ATMs had reached its highest level in 20 years.

In the UK criminals have become increasingly adept at getting consumers™ PIN codes from ATMs, including installing tiny cameras to record the moment they type the information in. 

Fraud on lost or stolen cards in the first six months of last year reached £29.2 million, up three per cent from the same period in 2013.

The cost of counterfeit fraud - cards that are cloned - increased by four per cent to £24.2million, up from £23.3 million.

Police have advised consumers to be on their guard when drawing out cash and watch out for people who get too close to them.

A common tactic is distraction, with criminals engaging people in conversation just as their card is being taken out, allowing them to steal it.

Users should also cover the keypad with their hand when they type in their pin code in case there is a hidden camera.