Voice Biometrics Case Study: Australian Health Management

In 2007, Australian Health Management (AHM), one of Australia’s top 10 health services providers with 250,000 members, introduced a voice biometrics system to validate member’s identities. Salmat (formerly VeCommerce) implemented the voice verification system, which is powered by Nuance Verifier™. According to AHM’s Website, the voice verification system was deployed to enhance member service. For example:

• Members would no longer need to go through the manual verification process every time they call
• Membership details would be accessed quicker to reduce waiting time
• Member’s health insurance information would be more secure

Enrollment Process:
• The enrollment process is voluntary and guided by a live agent
• Member is prompted to say their membership ID number
• This process creates the client’s “base” voiceprint and stores it in the database for future use

Verification Process:
• Member calls AHM and is prompted to say their membership ID number
• This process creates the member’s “sample” voiceprint which is then compared to their “base” voiceprint in the database
• If the voiceprints match, the member’s identity is verified
• If the voiceprints don’t match, the member is transferred to a live agent

Using voice biometrics, AHM is saving an average of 30 seconds per call.

Voice Biometrics Case Study - National Australia Bank

In 2009, Telstra , an Australian telecommunications company, deployed a voice biometrics identity verification system at the National Australia Bank. The system, dubbed “Speech Security,” uses Salmat VeCommerce‘s VeSecure® Biometric solution (which is powered by Nuance Verifier™). According to NAB’s Website, Speech Security was introduced to “improve the customer experience on NAB’s telephone banking and enhance security and privacy by removing the need for customers to remember PINs and passwords.”

Enrollment Process:
• The enrollment process is voluntary and takes approximately three minutes
• Customer is prompted to repeat a series of words
• This process creates the client’s “base” voiceprint and stores it in the database for future use

Verification Process:
• Customer calls NAB and is prompted to say their account number and date of birth
• This process creates the customer’s “sample” voiceprint which is then compared to their “base” voiceprint in the database
• If the voiceprints match, the customer’s identity is verified

Speech Security was initially rolled-out to 3.3 million NAB customers.