TDECU Extends Tex Assistant to Voice Calls With Illuma Voice Security

TDECU has expanded its Tex virtual assistant from chat into voice calls, adding member authentication and fraud protection through Illuma’s voice security technology. The Houston-based credit union is running the voice assistant on Glia’s banking AI platform and layering IllumaSHIELD voice security on top, putting voice biometrics at the front of its member phone support.

The move turns a chat assistant into a voice channel that can verify callers as they speak. Tex handles conversational support across a wide range of banking topics over the phone, and IllumaSHIELD performs real-time authentication by matching a caller’s voice against an enrolled voiceprint, so a member can be identified without running through knowledge-based security questions. The credit union frames the combination as both a service improvement, cutting time spent on authentication, and a fraud control.

Fraud is the explicit reason for the voice-security layer. Contact centers have become a target for social engineering and for synthetic-voice attacks, where a caller uses AI-generated audio to impersonate a member, and voice biometrics paired with deepfake-aware analysis is meant to flag those attempts at the point of the call. Adding that layer as Tex moves into voice is intended to keep the faster self-service channel from becoming an easier path for impersonation.

TDECU has a direct history with the technology. The credit union was among the backers when voice-security vendor Illuma Labs raised a $9 million Series A round focused on deepfake-resistant voice authentication for credit unions and banks, and it is now deploying that technology in production. The decision runs against a broader retreat from the category, in which AWS and Microsoft have exited voice biometrics and Google has pulled back amid deepfake risks.

“Our Members need support that’s immediate, intuitive, and available wherever they are,” said Isaac Johnson, President and Chief Executive Officer of TDECU, framing the voice assistant as a way to meet members on the channel they choose. The voice capability is live for TDECU members calling in for support.

Sources: TDECU

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By the ID Tech Editorial Team