When employees begin reporting to JPMorgan Chase’s new Manhattan headquarters later this year, they will be required to submit their biometric data to enter the building.
The policy, a first among major U.S. banks, makes biometric enrollment mandatory for staff assigned to the $3 billion, 60-story tower at 270 Park Avenue.
JPMorgan says the system is part of a modern security program designed to protect workers and streamline access, but it has sparked growing concern over privacy, consent, and the expanding use of surveillance technology in the workplace.
Internal communications reviewed by the Financial Times and The Guardian confirm that JPMorgan employees assigned to the new building have been told they must enroll their fingerprints or undergo an eye scan to access the premises.
Earlier drafts of the plan described the system as voluntary, but reports say that language has quietly disappeared. A company spokesperson declined to clarify how data will be stored or how long it will be retained, citing security concerns. Some staff reportedly may retain the option of using a badge instead, though the criteria for exemption remain undisclosed.
The biometric access requirement is being rolled out alongside a Work at JPMC smartphone app that doubles as a digital ID badge and internal service platform, allowing staff to order meals, navigate the building, or register visitors.
According to its listing in the Google Play Store, the app currently claims “no data collected,” though that self-reported disclosure does not replace a formal employee privacy notice.
In combination, the app and access system will allow the bank to track who enters the building, when, and potentially how long they stay on each floor, a level of visibility that, while defensible as security modernization, unsettles those wary of the creeping normalization of biometric surveillance in the workplace.
Executives have promoted the new headquarters as the “most technologically advanced” corporate campus in New York, and that it is designed to embody efficiency and safety. Reports suggest that the decision to make biometrics mandatory followed a series of high-profile crimes in Midtown, including the December 2024 killing of UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson. Within the bank, the justification has been framed as protecting employees in a volatile urban environment.
Yet, the decision thrusts JPMorgan into largely uncharted territory. No other major U.S. bank has been publicly documented as requiring its employees to submit biometric data merely to enter a headquarters building.
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