While it’s been around in its terrible form for years, doing things through our voices has only recently become a viable option; could it soon become the next big feature of personal banking?
A number of banks are now starting to jump on the latest technological bandwagon and it’s easy to see why – we live in a world where it’s possible to set an alarm, send texts or do some basic research without even touching our phones.
Santander have been the latest bank to encourage us to chat to our phones; through the company’s SmartBank app, customers can enquire about bank balance and find out how much they’ve spent within the last month, without needing to verify an identity – It knows it’s you who asked, simply because it knows your voice. Lloyds have also enabled customers to conduct mortgage interviews through video, further simplifying personal banking with the use of modern technology.
Every time new innovations are added to existing services, it’s impossible not to pose the question of ‘How far will this go?’ which is exactly what I’m going to contemplate right now.
Seeing as this is all based around the banks, immediately we begin to think of that clunky slice of plastic that we use to pay for things – our bank cards. It wouldn’t be too farfetched to envisage that time may soon be up for the holy grail of our wallets and purses; more features and services are gradually easing us away from the card and PIN combo we’ve grown accustomed to.
So, without further ado, I propose the concept of our voices…replacing our cards! Using ‘voice biometrics’ – a technology that detects over a hundred unique characteristics of someone’s voice such as vocal tract and nasal passage, pronunciation, emphasis, speed and the shape of larynx that is already in use by some organisations today – it’s not an entirely ridiculous idea.
In February, HSBC and first direct took the lead in implementing the use of voice biometrics, allowing customers to use their voice alongside fingerprint recognition to access personal banking. The idea is to solve the issue of forgotten passwords, but having specified that more advanced features were on the way, there’s clearly more to it than what is currently available.
I’ve always been sceptical about voice technology; if we do eventually get to a voice-replacing-card stage, what’s stopping someone holding me at gunpoint while I reluctantly tell a microphone that I’d like to purchase a £12,000 bottle of Champaign? What happens if I have the flu and my voice doesn’t sound the same? More to a point, will the technology finally be good enough to recognise distinctive accents? As a Bristolian with a rather light accent, I’m not holding out too much hope.
With all of this said, using our biological makeup to pay for things is the future. Fingerprints and our voices are much harder – although not impossible – to mimic, and would be much safer than the current card system, not to mention you won’t ever ‘forget’ your voice/fingers. However, we’re probably quite a while away from this just yet, we’ve only just started getting used to contactless/Apple pay systems, so it may be another 10 years before this concept becomes reality.
Regardless, this is certainly one to watch. Don’t say I didn’t warn you when you’re telling the cashier you’d like to approve a payment after you’ve left your card at home.
