Technology: Voice biometrics - Banking finds a

voice - Technology
Cooper, Jane . The Banker ; London (Dec 2014): n/a.

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RESUMEN (ABSTRACT)
 
There has been a lot of attention on voice and speech recognition, but Mr [Robert Weideman] at Nuance
Communications notes that what is important is the "brain" that sits behind such technology. "What is really
important is to have an intelligent...

RESUMEN
 
The future of banking technology could hinge on something that is not difficult to find: the voice. Developments in
the field of voice technology mean that such capabilities will no longer be in the domain of science-fiction and
could be commonplace in banking in the next few years. Whether it is speaking to a satellite navigation system in
a car - instead of fiddling with a screen while driving - or speaking commands to wearables such as Google Glass,
voice recognition is also expected to become more pervasive in a number of banking channels. Rather than typing
and swiping through numerous pages of a mobile banking app, for example, the voice can be used to navigate
through the options much faster. On top of speech recognition that understands instructions, the use of voice
biometrics is also being increasingly used to authenticate users.

TEXTO COMPLETO
 
The future of banking technology could hinge on something that is not difficult to find: the voice. Developments in
the field of voice technology mean that such capabilities will no longer be in the domain of science-fiction and
could be commonplace in banking in the next few years.
Apple iPhone users have been using Siri, an assistant that receives spoken commands, since 2011. Although it
may have been received by consumers as a novelty rather than something that can be used seriously, it marks a
wider trend of voice-controlled devices. Whether it is speaking to a satellite navigation system in a car - instead of
fiddling with a screen while driving - or speaking commands to wearables such as Google Glass, voice recognition
is also expected to become more pervasive in a number of banking channels. Rather than typing and swiping
through numerous pages of a mobile banking app, for example, the voice can be used to navigate through the
options much faster.
On top of speech recognition that understands instructions, the use of voice biometrics is also being increasingly
used to authenticate users. Al Pascual, director of fraud and security at Javelin Strategy &Research, says one
reason there is a lot of excitement in the banking industry about these technologies is because "you could realise
significant return on investment with these solutions across multiple channels". In the past, the business case was
not so proven. Also, he adds: "Mobile banking has exploded, which has made voice authentication technology
much more viable."
Imitating humans
Voice technology has become more accurate and also more human-like. Robert Weideman, executive vice-
president and general manager, enterprise division, at Nuance Communications, says: "The software has got a lot

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more intelligent and much more human-like. If you are going to engage with customers in an automated way, you
want that capability to be human-like in its interactions."
Nuance has developed speech-recognition and voice-biometrics solutions that a number of banks are using. For
example, US Bank has been using Nina, Nuance's virtual assistant that responds to spoken instructions. In
February 2014 the bank announced that it was piloting voice biometrics so that customers could access their
credit card accounts by speaking the passphrase "my voice is my password".
In September 2014, ING in the Netherlands introduced voice control to its mobile banking app using an assistant
the bank named Inge. Customers can speak to Inge and ask her what their account balance is, for example. Other
functions for the mobile app will be introduced in a phased approach, with the Dutch bank saying in a statement:
"ING thinks it is important to introduce Inge gradually and to learn from customer experience."
Dan Miller, senior analyst and founder of Opus Research, says that voice technology fits with banks' multi-channel
strategies. As well as using voice biometrics to prevent fraud, the technology also improves customer service. For
example, when customers phone their bank, it takes less time for the customer to finish whatever they are trying to
do.
Russia's Tinkoff Credit Systems (TCS Bank) - in a project that won The Banker's Technology Projects of the Year
award for customer service - estimated that it was able to authenticate customers to its call centres in seven
seconds, a reduction of 40 seconds on average per call. The bank used Nice System's passive enrolment
technology that enables customers' voices to be authenticated against a voiceprint that has been created from
historic recordings of calls to the call centres.
Trust in technology
At Barclays Wealth, which uses Nuance's voice biometrics solution, a video on its website explains to customers
how it is using voice biometrics and that customers are required to make a short phone call to capture their
voiceprint.
While this may seem inconvenient and unnecessary, Mr Pascual points out that it has the dual purpose of giving
customers a sense of security and also "satisfies the need of regulators [in various jurisdictions] that they are
educating customers about how their biometric data is being used", he says. He adds, however, that privacy is a
concern in the use of this technology, saying: "When people do not understand things, they are less inclined to
trust [the technology]."
Mr Miller points out that banks have been more cautious in their roll outs compared with other industries and have
chosen certain segments first. For example, Barclays has started with its high-net-worth customers before rolling
out its voice authentication to all customers.
Mr Miller points to a study by Opus Research, which shows financial institutions are in the top tier alongside
telecommunications companies in terms of the most advanced use of voice biometrics. In the next tier down from
banks are the healthcare, insurance and e-government industries. "Financial services companies have been among
the first to trial and implement [the technology]," says Mr Miller, adding that they are just a little behind the
telecoms industry on a global basis.
Enhancing security
Voice technology can also be used alongside other forms of biometrics to enhance security. Tangerine, which is
now owned by Scotiabank and was formerly known as ING Direct Canada, in October 2014 introduced voice
banking as well as TouchID authentication - the iPhone fingerprint reader - to its mobile banking app. The bank has
plans to introduce voice authentication later this year. "Voice authentication will allow clients the ability to use
their voice as their password as an added layer of security when logging into our mobile app. We believe this is a
very important first step toward simplifying the log-in process and eliminating the need for cumbersome
passwords at some point in the future," says Charaka Kithulegoda, chief information officer of Tangerine.
The idea of biometrics is not new and banks have been experimenting with this kind of technology for years. Mr
Kithulegoda explains that back in 2000 the bank piloted a biometric mouse where a fingerprint could be used to
access an online bank account. At the time it was too cumbersome. "Fourteen years later we have the ability to

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revisit this technology as we now have smartphones as a platform to support biometric technology in an easy and
simple way, whether it's by scanning a fingerprint or recognising a voice," he says.
There has been a lot of attention on voice and speech recognition, but Mr Weideman at Nuance Communications
notes that what is important is the "brain" that sits behind such technology. "What is really important is to have an
intelligent system that can understand what a customer is asking for, and can ask questions to clarify the request,"
he says. "It is really the 'brain' that understands, holds a conversation with you." Also, it is important for customers
to be able to do that across a number of banking channels, as Mr Weideman explains that people might want to do
that via text message, on the phone or using a wearable device.
The advantage of using the voice, notes Mr Pascual at Javelin, is that "anyone can use it without training", which is
important when dealing with a wide customer base. Pat Carroll, founder and executive chairman of technology
company ValidSoft, echoes this, saying: "Everyone has access to a phone of some sort. Voice is the lowest
common denominator across channels," compared with a fingerprint reader, for example.
Mr Carroll expects voice technology to be more pervasive in the future. At call centres, for example, customers can
be authenticated without giving any security credentials away and their voiceprint can be checked against a
blacklist of fraudsters' voices.
Internet of things
Pointing to a wider trend, Mr Carroll explains how the voice will become more crucial in the internet of things,
whereby everyday objects will have network connectivity. As more devices become connected to the internet, it is
likely that they will no longer be controlled via screens or a control panel, but rather a voice. A person can walk into
the room and say "turn on the lights" or "turn on the heating" in a ubiquitous computing environment where there
are no longer interfaces to such technology. Mr Carroll believes that it is not just voice recognition that is
important, however. "Security will have to be pervasive in that environment and biometrics is absolutely essential
to support these voice components," he says.
Looking to the future, Mr Pascual says: "Voice [technology] will be pretty ubiquitous within 10 years," adding that
voice authentication will become more powerful as the voice can be authenticated alongside authenticating the
mobile device or phone line that the customer is calling from.
With a combination of speech recognition, voice biometrics and an intelligent artificial brain, voice technology will
no longer be the stuff of science- fiction, but rather an everyday banking experience.

DETALLES

Materia: Bank technology; Voice recognition; Biometric identification; Banking industry;

Trends

Empresa/organización: Nombre: Nuance Communications; NAICS: 511210

Clasificación: 5240: Software &systems; 8100: Financial services industry

Título: Technology: Voice biometrics - Banking finds a voice - Technology

Autor: Cooper, Jane

Título de publicación: The Banker; London

Páginas: n/a

Año de publicación: 2014

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 Fecha de publicación: Dec 2014

Editorial: The Financial Times Limited

Lugar de publicación: London

País de publicación: United Kingdom

Materia de publicación: Business And Economics--Banking And Finance

ISSN: 00055395

CODEN: BNKRB2

Tipo de fuente: Trade Journals

Idioma de la publicación: English

Tipo de documento: News

ID del documento de 1629618858

ProQuest:

URL del documento: https://search.proquest.com/docview/1629618858?accountid=43860

Copyright: (Copyright 2014 Financial Times Business Limited. All Rights Reserved.)

Última actualización: 2014-12-15

Base de datos: ProQuest Central

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