NAB has scrapped plans to introduce facial recognition ATMs.

The bank demonstrated a proof-of-concept ATM with facial recognition at a financial conference in Sydney in late October 2018.

“We were able to use a cloud service to recognise somebody's face and come up with a solution that enables somebody to come up and take money out of an ATM without a card,” said executive general manager of infrastructure, cloud and workplace Steve Day at the time.

“You just come up, you look at the thing, you put in your PIN, and it gives you money.

“[It’s] a much more secure way of getting your money out of an ATM than using a plastic card.

“For a start, there's no card skimming possible. The face that you have is far more complicated and harder to copy than a plastic card is, and it also is a better user experience. You don't have to carry around a wallet to get cash.”

Reports this week say the facial recognition ATM work was discontinued soon after. Analysts say exactly what caused NAB to axe the project is unclear.