Investment bank had previously planned for such information from New York workers to be voluntary

JP Morgan Chase has told staff moving into its new headquarters in New York that they must share their biometric data to access the multibillion-dollar building.

The investment bank had previously planned for the registering of biometric data by employees at its new Manhattan skyscraper to be voluntary.

However, employees of the US’s biggest bank who have started work at the headquarters since August have received emails saying that biometric access was “required”, according to communications seen by the Financial Times.

Biometric access requires staff to scan their fingerprints or eye to gain access through security gates in the lobby instead of swiping their ID badges.