Banks Are Introducing Voice Recognition Software to Replace Passwords

Voice Recognition in banking is becoming popular to use as a security option. More and more banks are starting to provide voice-activated digital assistants such as Amazon’s Alexa to perform banking tasks.

Banks are allowing their customers to use smart assistants such as the Amazon Echo to access their account. Customers are able to talk to these assistants and can inquire about their balance, obtain their transaction history and even make credit card payments.

Voice Recognition in Banking

Multinational banks are among the leading financial institutions experimenting with voice recognition software to increase security measure for their customers.

Some banks use voice recognition to use individual’s voice for identity verification through their smartphone. A digital profile is made with a profile of the individual’s voice. Similar to the process of registering your thumbprint for your smartphone, your voice is registered through three voice calls.

Our voices are unique as our thumbprints and tricking the system is pretty tricky. Remember a password is a chore and signing in using just your voice is very convenient. Customers can use voice-recognition technology through their smartphones to make payments, transfer money and to report stolen or lost ATM and credit cards.

Voice Recognition Has Its Downsides

Voice Recognition is a very innovative security solution and according to experts, is a huge transformative change in how people will deal with their banks and money. It does, however, have its flaws and downsides.

For example, HSBC’s banking app gives customers the option to sign in by giving in their birthday and account details and then saying “My voice is my password” into the mic. The app was designed by gauging 100 characteristics of the human voice and how each characteristic works to determine the identity of a person.

This, however, proved to be not enough as a twin managed to access his brother’s account in a test. This means if the twin had a voice similar enough, anyone who has skills with their voice i.e impersonators and voice actors who know how a voice can be mutated, can have access to one’s account.

More Security Flaws

Another serious flaw revealed in the HSBC’s app was that it kept asking user’s credentials. It gave multiple chances to a person getting the account information wrong and thus revealed itself to be a serious threat. Someone trying to get into an account might have to try a just enough of times to get into an account. In the case of the twins, the brother had to try seven times to get into his brother’s account. Although he wasn’t able to take money out, he was able to have access to his balance and transfer money between accounts.

The threat of having biometric data stolen or hacked is very real and the effects are permanent. You can change your password if it was a pin number, you can always have a new AMT card made but you can’t change your voice. Once your biometric data leaks, you are at threat forever.

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