ANZ will become the first Australian bank that allows customers to use their voice to improve security when making larger transactions on the move on their mobile devices.
Later this year ANZ will introduce voice biometrics so customers transferring more than $1000 through the ANZ mobile app can just speak to approve it.
Previously a customer was required to use internet banking or visit a branch to authorise transactions of more than $1000.
“One of the key challenges today for banking as the world becomes more digital is making it easier for customers to do what they want to do in a safe and secure way,” said ANZ managing director of customer experience and digital channels, Peter Dalton.
“Voice biometrics is the next step in making banking more convenient for our customers while also strengthening security.
“A person’s voice has five to ten times as many security points than other methods such as fingerprints so we know this will improve security and be welcomed by our customers.
“The technology is now so advanced that it can tell the difference between identical twins or even a voice recording.
“We also know that people are becoming more comfortable with using their voice to do basic commands on their devices, so we see this is a natural extension of current technology and we are expecting this to be a popular enhancement of our mobile apps.”
The technology that’s going to be used is providing by world-leading voiceprint and biometric company Nuance.
A pilot program will kick off with ANZ staff and select customers in May using the Grow by ANZ app.
The service will then be rolled out progressively to ANZ goMoney and other digital services.