ANZ Bank is set to become the first Australian bank to implement voice biometrics technology for high-value mobile payment transactions. The new feature, scheduled to launch in mid-2025, will allow customers to authorize transfers exceeding $1,000 through mobile apps using their voice as authentication.
The implementation addresses current limitations that require customers to use internet banking or visit branches for larger transactions. According to Peter Dalton, Managing Director of Customer Experience and Digital Channels at ANZ, voice biometrics offers superior security compared to traditional methods, with “five to ten times as many security points than other methods such as fingerprints.”
The news comes amid growing adoption of biometric authentication in the financial sector. Last November, several Australian banks joined the BioCatch behavioral fraud detection network, demonstrating the industry’s commitment to advanced security measures.
ANZ has partnered with voiceprint and biometrics company Nuance to develop the technology. The implementation will begin with a pilot program in May of this year, initially available to ANZ staff and select customers through the Grow by ANZ mobile app. Following successful testing, the service will be gradually extended to ANZ goMoney and other digital platforms.
ANZ’s implementation builds on earlier successful deployments of voice authentication in banking, such as RCBC Bankard’s call center implementation, while taking the technology further by applying it to mobile payment authentication.
The development comes at a time of heightened concern about voice-spoofing, however, with the rapid development of artificial intelligence making it increasingly easy for fraudsters to create synthetic “clones” of real voices, and manipulate them to their own ends.
Sources: News, Fintechfutures, Asianbankingandfinance
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March 27, 2025 – by the ID Tech Editorial Team
