Nuance Communications is a provider of voice and language technologies and its passive biometrics technology has been designed to eliminate the process of replying to intrusive security questions to prove a customer’s identity.
Commenting on the partnership, Nuance Enterprise Division executive vice president and general manager Robert Weideman said that the technology allows Barclays to redefine its customer service experiences and eases the burden on both customers and service agents.
Using Nuance voice biometrics technology, the bank representative at the call centre can compare the customer’s voice to their unique voiceprint on file during a natural conversation prior to allowing them to access their account.
In cases where the customer is not verified by the system, the bank can then put the customer through ‘knowledge-based authentication’ process, where they will have to answer an array of invasive security questions.
The company said that since the adoption of the new technology, more than 84% of Barclays’ customers have enrolled in the Nuance voice biometrics, with 95% of those customers successfully verified upon their first use of the system.
Operating in more than 50 nations, Barclays offers personal banking, credit cards, corporate and investment banking and wealth and investment management services through 140,000 staff in Europe, the Americas, Africa and Asia.
