Voice will be your new access code. Citibank is bringing voice biometrics to its customers in India as early as next year, which will avoid the bother of remembering your PIN or answering security questions. Citi has roped in its partner Israeli technology company Nice to roll out this service. Each voice print is as distinct as a fingerprint and it will be uniquely tagged and saved in a voice bank. This could potentially up the game for Indian IT service providers who could look at integrating voice authentication into their core banking offerings with a layer of analytics on top. This could open up newer business opportunities.
Citi’s voice biometric allows customers to be automatically verified in 15 seconds compared to 45 seconds previously when they would call the bank. Earlier this year, Citi rolled out voice biometrics in the Asia-Pacific region and expects 10 lakh people to use it in the next one year. Citigroup, like its peers in the US, is transforming the face of retail banking with omni-channel experiences, peer-to-peer payments, digital wallets and video chats to provide banking-on-the-go experience.
As Citi undergoes a digital makeover, some portions of its IT outsourcing contract that’s coming up for renewal next year involves initiatives around run and change — focusing on cost take-outs and modernizing applications.
Banks including Bank of America, BMO-Harris, Chase, Santander and Citizens Bank have embraced digital banking technologies like blockchain and distributed ledgers and selfie authentication to offer a consistent experience across different customer touch points. “A lot of the revenue and growth opportunity for IT service providers is going to be related to digital services as providers can also justify premium pricing and new pricing models. This also requires deeper engagement with line of business leadership beyond just the IT organization,” said Jimit Arora, head of Everest Group’s IT services research practice.
