The world is increasingly turning digital today. This essentially translates into development of newer customer applications and services, increasing number of accounts being created and an equal number of associated passwords to be remembered! What need special mention are the countless security questions. A call to the Call Center to inquire about something as simple as the credit card balance puts one through a series of questions that sometimes makes us wish we had never called in the first place!!
Of course, this multi-level security practice has been developed to protect customer information from fraudsters. Today, Banking and Contact Center organizations need to implement a non-invasive yet transparent system which exonerates the customers from answering a series of personal trivia questions to help establish their authenticity, confidentially, and simultaneously relieve the service representative from a monotonous activity.
A voice biometric is a numerical representation made from the sound, pattern and rhythm of an individual’s voice. Voice biometrics technology analyze more than 50 characteristics of voice which are unique & dependent on physical traits of the vocal tract, such as shape and size of mouth, nasal passages, as well as behavioral factors including pronunciation, emphasis, speed of speech and accent. Attempts to impersonate a voice or provide voice recordings to gain fraudulent authentication fail due to the distinctive details of the voiceprint used for comparison. The intelligent use of randomly generated phrases can further thwart any fraudulent practices.
Based on the analysis of the voiceprint, a scorecard is generated and business rules are applied to enable the associated services. For e.g.
If score card < 30; low score customer to be authenticated with alternated mechanism such as Account number & PIN or to be verified through OTP.
If score card < 50; enable only information related services such bank balance, last 5 transaction
If score card > 70; enable all services including fund related transaction services such as RTGS, NEFT, Utility bill payment, Recharge etc…
It’s not just the threat of fraudsters that’s scary, it is more the misuse of personal information collated for the so called “security purposes” by the executive at the other side of the call that is equally worrisome. A human intervention with full access of Customer information is a big flaw in itself in any security process. Voice biometric technology and advanced word spotting technique empowers the customers to control the information being displayed to the Call center agent thus enhancing security.
A voice biometric system first authenticates a customer’s real time voice with sample voice print and a score card is generated. This information is attached as tag to the call, and wherever a customer traverses, his voice biometric score card follows. If a customer opts for agent assistance, the call is transferred & using CTI technology score card is displayed on agent CRM screen. Customer converses with the agent for his queries/complaints/requests. During the conversation, speech engine does key word spotting & associates context to it. In the background speech engine relays this information to CRM & activates relevant work flow/activity. For e.g. CRM Screen when call is transferred to an Agent, Voice print authentication score card, customer Name & balance information is displayed to an Agent.
Note: Information in grey cells is hidden/disabled
During conversation customer requests for cheque book request. Business rule engine checks score card & qualifies it to take the request. Cheque book work flow is now activated on CRM Screen. whereas other workflow remains disabled.
Now let’s taken an example of financial transaction. During conversation customer want to pay his/her electricity bill. Speech system sets contexts as “Bill Payment request”. As score card is low, business rule advises for Manual Authentication. Manual Authentication parameters such as mother’s maiden name (MM Name) is dynamically enabled on CRM screen to complete utility bill payment request.
Voice has emerged as a viable authentication method because, just like a fingerprint or iris, voice is unique to an individual. In a nutshell, voice biometric engine enables authentication using customer voice print, which is non-invasive. With lower implementation cost, ease of use and higher accuracy, voice biometric technology has emerged as a game changer.