Fico survey shows support for biometrics and mobile banking as financials adopt voice technology

Two out of five Malaysians expect to enroll biometrics when they open bank accounts, and more people in the country are comfortable opening accounts with smartphones than in the U.S. or Canada, according to new survey results released by Fico. In the UK, Fico found 71 percent of people are happy to provide a biometric to their bank.

The U.S. and Canadian versions of Fico’s Consumer Digital Banking survey show increasing trust in biometrics to secure financial data online, though only 43 percent of Canadians would perform a biometric scan such as a fingerprint to open an account. Three out of five Americans would do so.

Compared to Americans, 5 percent more people in Malaysia are comfortable with opening financial accounts on a mobile device, and 7 percent more compared to Canadians. According to the survey, 78 percent of Malaysians would open a financial account online, but more than 40 percent could be turned away by too much friction in identity verification processes.

“There is research to show that only 6-9 percent of applicants move through the funnel and complete the process,” said Subhashish Bose, Fico Asia Pacific lead for fraud, security and compliance. “The most important metric that banking executives need to understand is the difference between application completion for authenticated versus non-authenticated applications, as well as how many applicants with saved or abandoned applications return to complete the process.”

People over 55 years old were more likely to accept digital account opening than those between 45 and 55, which an analyst suggested could be due to multi-generational households including young people who help older people with the processes, and mobility limitations.

When asked about different identity verification methods, 78 percent of consumer is Malaysia said they should be able to provide an identity document and selfie, and 46 percent expect to be able to prove their address online. Practically the same number of Britons (77 percent) approve of ID document and selfie processes, 73 percent expect to prove where they live without moving offline, and 46 percent expect to set up a biometric like a fingerprint scan at sign-up.

Somewhat unexpectedly, UK millennials expressed lower willingness to open financial accounts online with ID document and selfie checks than their older counterparts.

The survey also found that fingerprints are acceptable for securing financial accounts according to 68 percent of UK consumers, compared to 37 percent acceptance for using an “eye scan” and 36 percent for facial biometrics.

“The changing behaviours brought on by COVID-19 will only increase consumer demand for online and frictionless, interactions. The financial sector needs to work hard to meet this challenge to create the best possible customer experience, while also reassuring those customers who have any doubts about digital security,” says Fico Identity Solutions Expert Sarah Rutherford.

“The key is to have continuous authentication methods in place using both biometric and non-biometric methods of ID management, and an integrated approach that can be applied across every customer touchpoint.”

Fico has partnered with OpenWrks, meanwhile, to combine Open Banking data with conversational AI for remote self-service affordability assessments, which the companies say can dramatically reduce operating costs and improve customer experiences.

The integrated data collections and omni-channel platform provided by Fico will be combined with OpenWrks financial budgeting and conversational AI technology to assist creditors in making decisions during the pandemic crisis and after.

Financials adopt voice recognition for authentication

Korean bank IBK is launching biometric voice authentication for its customer support center, enabling identity verification within 15 seconds, according to Gyeonggi Daily.

The bank claims that the service provides stronger security compared to face recognition and fingerprint authentication, and that by eliminating passwords, more than 11 seconds had been shaved from the average call time.

A bank official also said the service would benefit customers such as the elderly who have trouble using other authentication methods.

Two credit unions have announced investments in Illuma Labs, which provides a real-time voice authentication and fraud prevention platform Illuma Shield, CUtoday reports.

Veridian Credit Union’s Veridian Group and Texas Dow Employees Credit Union have made a joint investment in the company to boost their security and ease customer’s access to funds. Adopting the technology is also expected to help keep costs related to identity theft down, according to the Veridian Group’s president.

The investment is credited to Illuma Labs’ participation in the annual VentureTech fintech fundraising event.

Article Topics

banking  |  biometrics  |  FICO  |  financial services  |  fintech  |  identity verification  |  Korea  |  KYC  |  Malaysia  |  open banking  |  UK  |  United States  |  voice biometrics