A major bank in the United Arab Emirates has announced plans to introduce voice biometrics security for its phone banking services. Abu Dhabi Commercial Bank (ADCB) has partnered with Nuance Communications Inc. to implement the system.
It’s a move that could be part of a trend. Recently, South African ICT company ATIO made a similar arrangement with voice biometrics provider OneVault, asking for a voice recognition security system of its own to replace its traditional knowledge-based authentication system, in which customers calling in are asked predetermined questions to which only they should know the answers – the same kind of archaic security system that ADCB is seeking to replace.
While voice biometrics offers a much greater level of security above knowledge-based authentication, interestingly, both ADCB and ATIO before it have positioned these developments as customer service improvements: Voice recognition technology can authenticate customers in a matter of seconds, compared to the relatively time-consuming and annoying process of forcing customers to answer a series of rote questions.
“In this competitive environment we need to make sure that customer convenience and ease of access are effectively balanced with information and transaction security,” said Ravi Nair, ADCB’s Head of Customer Experience. He went on to note that voice biometrics “will play a vital role” in finding that balance.
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October 20, 2014 – by Alex Perala
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