Santander has become the first bank in the UK to introduce voice pay.
The bank has taken this next step in bringing innovation to payments by letting consumers make payments using their voice. Whilst other banks have been focusing on improving biometrics to enhance the overall payment experience and to add ease to the transaction, Santander has focused on letting customers use voice commands to control their personal banking.
Last year HSBC rolled out voice biometrics as a way to log into accounts instead of needing to remember and enter a password.
The bank has updated it’s Smartbank app, where users can check their balance, make transfers and authorise payments using voice commands. The new technology is being piloted on the iOS version of the bank’s app, which follows the introduction of voice assistant banking that Santander rolled out last year, allowing customers to use voice commands to ask the app about spending habits.
Ed Metzger, Head of Technology Innovation at Santander, commented on the news: “The worlds of technology and banking continue to evolve at pace, working hand in hand to deliver a friction-free user experience.
“We are excited to be the first UK high street bank to enable customers to make payments using just their voice, offering them another channel of choice in how they wish to bank. Appetite for simple, intuitive banking solutions has grown significantly in recent years.
“This pioneering technology has huge potential to become an integral part of the future banking experience, playing a transformational role in the industry and redefining how customers choose to manage their money.”
Whitepapers
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