ATO Implements Nuance Voice Biometrics to Become the First Organization to Offer Multi-Channel Voice Biometrics Authentication
January 21 2016 - 8:00AM
Business Wire
Australian Taxation Office Aims to Improve the
Client Experience Across the Contact Center and Mobile App
Nuance Communications, Inc. (NASDAQ: NUAN) today announced that
the Australian Taxation Office (ATO) has further expanded its voice
authentication program by integrating Nuance’s voice biometrics
technology into its mobile app. As the first organization to
implement a multi-channel voice biometrics authentication process,
the ATO aims to improve the overall experience across the contact
center and mobile app for taxpayers, with over 1.5 million people
already enrolling a voiceprint.
Taxpayers can already authenticate using their voice when
calling the ATO contact center, an innovation which was rolled-out
last year. This second-phase implementation now offers taxpayers
voice biometrics authentication across its suite of online
services, accessible through the ATO app. The implementation of
biometrics means taxpayers no longer have to answer security
questions or enter lengthy usernames and passwords to prove their
identity when engaging with the ATO.
“The ATO is committed to delivering a contemporary digital
experience for our clients and feedback has shown an overwhelming
acceptance of voice biometrics in the call center, making it a
natural next step to bring this ease of access to the mobile app,”
Assistant Commissioner, ATO John Dardo said.
“Voice biometrics solutions have made the authentication process
more convenient for taxpayers and service agents via the ATO mobile
app. We’re proud to be the first organization to provide this type
of innovative mobile experience for our clients,” he said.
Nuance Managing Director, Enterprise, Australia and New Zealand,
Robert Schwarz said: “In this changing customer service ecosystem,
organizations need to provide experiences that are natural and
intuitive across channels in order to meet customers’ higher
expectations and preferences.
“The ATO’s commitment to delivering an authentication process
that is faster and smoother across channels shows they are putting
their clients first by offering a more compelling and effective
experience.”
A major benefit of the ATO’s new multi-channel voice biometrics
program is that taxpayers who choose to participate only need to
enroll in the program once, as their unique voiceprint is
authenticated when they engage with the ATO via the contact center
and likewise when they are authenticated within the ATO mobile
app.
A key benefit of voice biometrics is the security value it
offers. Voice biometrics has been demonstrated to deliver a higher
level of security than traditional authentication methods such as
PINs, passwords, security questions and even physical tokens. In a
report published in 2013, Opus Research examined the vulnerability
of various authentication methods to a variety of attacks, and
found that voice biometrics compared favorably. One of the key
reasons for this is that unlike passwords, voiceprints are of no
value to a hacker.
The ATO receives approximately 7.2 million calls per year from
the community and prior to implementing Nuance’s voice biometrics
around 76 per cent of these calls required an ATO agent to verify
the caller’s identity, at a cost of 75,000 hours of agents’ and
customers’ time each year.
Initial results from the ATO’s voice biometrics deployment
include:
- Broad acceptance evidenced by the 1.5M
successful voice biometrics enrollments since the new system
launched
- Feedback has indicated that the contact
center experience has improved, with repeat callers experiencing a
40-45 second reduction in the average time that they are on the
phone with an agent, gaining access to their personal records
faster.
Organizations around the globe are recognizing the growing
consumer frustration with PINs, passwords and security questions,
and are addressing this frustration head on to make customer
authentication more convenient and more secure than knowledge-based
authentication. Nuance’s voice biometrics solutions have been
adopted globally by other large organizations, such as ING
Netherlands, Manulife, Royal Bank of Canada, Santander Mexico, SK
Telecom, Tangerine Bank, Tatra Banka, Turkcell, U.S. Bank, and Vodacom South Africa.
For more information about Nuance voice biometrics technology,
please visit: www.nuance.com/voice-biometrics.
About Nuance Communications, Inc.Nuance Communications,
Inc. (NASDAQ: NUAN) is a leading provider of voice and language
solutions for businesses and consumers around the world. Its
technologies, applications and services make the user experience
more compelling by transforming the way people interact with
devices and systems. Every day, millions of users and thousands of
businesses experience Nuance’s proven applications. For more
information, please visit www.nuance.com.
Nuance and the Nuance logo are trademarks or registered
trademarks of Nuance Communications, Inc. or its subsidiaries in
the United States of America and/or other countries. All other
company names or product names may be the trademarks of their
respective owners.
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version on businesswire.com: http://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20160121005224/en/
Australia:Burson-MarstellerKara Billsborough, 0431 269
291Kara.Billsborough@bm.comorUS:Nuance CommunicationsErica Hill,
781-888-5518Erica.Hill@nuance.com
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