HSBC have today started the largest rollout of biometric banking within the UK, with around 15 million customers expected to use the service.
The banking giant follows on from RBS and NatWest in bringing the authentication technology to its customers. Voice recognition has already been introduced by Barclay’s in the past, however HSBC is the first company to offer it in the public sector. The new system will do away with memorable dates and places, instead allowing for a simple fingerprint and voice reading interface to authenticate its users.
The system will be implemented by Nuance Communications; a company who has previously worked on a number of big projects including Apple’s Siri. Customers who use the service will need to create a unique ‘voice print’ that will cross-check them against over 100 unique identifiers. It can even work when somebody is ill.
HSBC says the voice recognition will be opened up within the coming weeks, while the fingerprint service can be used now by downloading the compatible iOS application.
For more on iOS, visit What Mobile’s dedicated iOS page.
Via BBC News
