Samsung Pass to let you access your financial apps via your irises

Samsung will tap into iris scanning to help you launch financial apps on the Galaxy Note 7.

At its Unpacked event on Tuesday, Samsung announced that the new Galaxy Note 7 would be its first mobile device to offer iris recognition as a way to unlock the device. But the company also revealed that it will employ its Samsung Pass feature to work with the new iris scanner. That means you'll be able to use your eyes to securely open certain apps, most notably those that contain your financial information.

With more people banking via their mobile devices, security has become a greater concern. Several phones offer fingerprint scanners as a way of unlocking mobile apps that contain sensitive information. But iris scanners are considered by many experts to be a more secure and accurate method of protecting the personal data on your smartphone.

To integrate the new Pass capability into financial apps, Samsung is currently exploring the idea with six different banks, including Bank of America, Citi, US Bank, KEB Hana Bank, Shinhan Bank and Woori Bank, blog site AndroidCentral said on Tuesday. The company didn't reveal how far along it was in the process or when the Samsung Pass iris recognition might roll out to individual banking apps.

The idea behind Samsung Pass is to replace your usernames and passwords, and for more than just financial apps. The company said that Pass will let you unlock other apps, folders and documents with your eyes as well as your fingerprint. The Note 7 includes a fingerprint reader along with the iris scanner. In a press release, Samsung said that "the Galaxy Note 7 will also support Samsung Pass, bringing authentication such as iris scanning and fingerprint recognition to more apps and services."

Samsung did not respond to a request for comment.