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.

TradeHarbor Partners with Call Center Solutions Provider

According to a press release, TradeHarbor, Inc. has entered into a partnership agreement with USAN, a provider of hosted call center solutions, to offer its SaaS voice biometrics solution (Voice Signature Service(SM)) to USAN’s IVR services customers.

Bob Nelson, Vice President of Partner Development at TradeHarbor said that the Voice Signature Service(SM) will be deployed to authenticate inbound calls, as well as “online authentication for transactions made from computers and mobile devices based on outbound calls to their wired or mobile phones.”

I am pleased that USAN recognized the value of deploying voice biometrics to secure call center transactions.

Voice Biometrics Case Study - Vodafone Turkey

In June 2009, Vodafone Turkey, that country’s second largest mobile communications provider (16 million+ subscribers), in concert with implementation partner SPEECHOUSE, began deploying a customer-facing voice biometrics application. Vodafone Turkey’s “Voice Signature” application is powered by PerSay’s VocalPassword™.

According to PerSay, the primary drivers for Voice Signature were to enhance customer service and improve security. Subscriber benefits include the ability to perform secure self-service transactions such as resetting a blocked mobile device. Enrollment in the Voice Signature application is voluntary.

Vodafone Turkey also benefits by a reduction in call center costs. According to them, thanks to Voice Signature, call durations decreased by about 15%, while customer satisfaction increased 85%.

As a testament to their voice biometrics implementation, Vodafone Turkey won “The Best Technology Solution” award at the “Istanbul Call Center Awards 2009” ceremony.

Who are You? Voice Biometrics Knows for Sure!

Most contact centers rely on a combination of "challenge questions" to verify a caller's identity. Examples of commonly asked questions follow:

What is your mother's maiden name?
What is your address, phone number?
What are the last 4 of your Social Security number?
What is the name of your favorite childhood friend?
What street did you live on growing up?
What was the last name of your favorite childhood teacher?
In what city or town was your first job?
What was the name of your elementary / primary school?
What is the street number of the house you grew up in?
What was the make and model of your first car?
What is the your pet's name?
What is your favorite team?
What is your favorite movie?
In what city were you born?
What is your favorite color?

Contact center agents can't assume that the caller answering the challenge questions correctly is actually who they say they are. For example, the fraudster may be an immediate family member (as shocking as that sounds!) who knows all the answers. Only voice biometrics can positively verify the caller's identity!

Three Good Reasons Why Call Centers Should Use Automated Speaker Verification

Call centers should all be using automated speaker verification (voice biometrics) in conjunction with their IVR systems. Here are three reasons why:

1) May reduce operating costs (e.g., eliminates the need for agent-led, manual verification of callers -- savings of 20-40 seconds per call)
2) Improves customer service (gets the caller to the service or information they need quicker)
3) Enhances security (reduces potential fraud due to social engineering)

Also, financial institutions and health care providers can satisfy multi-factor compliance by using voice biometrics.