Barclays starts using voice recognition technology

Barclays can now identify you by your voice. But will the technology work?

Security questions and PIN codes have been abandoned at Barclays Wealth in favour of voice recognition technology to identify customers.

This means the bank will be able to know if a customer is who they say they are after 30 seconds of talking.

It’s the first time a bank has used voice recognition and the technology is being provided by Nuance, who is also responsible for creating Apple’s Siri service.

Voice recognition

Instead of having to worry about remembering several different passwords, the new service relies on a customer's voice for identification.

The service was rated nine out of 10 for speed, ease of use and security in 93% of customer trials, and in 95% of cases customers were recognised first time.

When someone calls up Barclays Wealth, they’ll speak to a customer service agent and their voice will be verified in around 20 or 30 seconds. If the voice doesn’t match one kept on file, traditional security questions will be asked.

Improved security

At the moment customers need to go through the same identification process every time they call up their bank. As they often forget the answers to security questions, such as their first street address, this can be a lengthy process.

The introduction of voice recognition should greatly reduce the amount of time spent on the phone which in turn will lower the cost to both the customer and the bank. It also aims to reduce stress levels brought on when customers forget these questions and are then unable to access their finances.

Barclays Wealth is the private banking division of Barclays Bank and the first to use this kind of technology, also known as voice biometrics. Since it was introduced, 84% of customers have now signed up and it’s expected to be rolled out across all areas of the bank.  

Is this the end of passwords?

Recent research from Nuance in North America showed that 85% of people are unhappy with the current security measures which exist and 90% are keen to try out voice recognition.

However, as banking technology moves rapidly towards mobile and online use, we do still need to remember certain passwords for accessing our accounts. Therefore what would be a good next step is to create voice recognition which works through banking apps on our smartphones.

Another catch is the security aspect. Recent fiascos with internet banking could encourage banks to take up this new technology. But although Barclays and Nuance claim it is more secure than the standard secutity verification, hackers are always on the look-out for new ways to access our private information, so only time will tell if this new system can stand up to the fraudsters.

What do you think about voice recognition? Would you prefer it to answering secutiry questions? Let me know in the comment box below.

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