Biometrics are one of the new ways through which consumers have the ability to authorize purchases. Depending on adoption rates, security, and ease of use, they may act as substitutes for consumers. How will voice payments affect things?
Voice payments are becoming increasingly popular as consumers look for more convenient ways to pay for goods and services. Also known as voice-based payments, these transactions are made using natural language commands, typically through a smart speaker or virtual assistant. Voice payments offer several advantages over traditional payment methods, such as credit cards and cash. For one thing, they are more hands-free, which can be especially beneficial for people who are driving or otherwise occupied. In addition, voice payments are generally faster and easier to use than other methods. Another advantage is that voice payments can be made without revealing your credit card number or other sensitive information.
According to an article published in Banking CIO Outlook…
…“voice payments will simplify the payment methods by leveraging natural language processing and other voice-based technologies.”
While Alexa, Siri, and Cortana may be gaining in popularity as voice-enabled assistance devices, there remains uncertainty as to whether voice recognition is secure, trusted, and adopted by the general population for authorization or making payments. The article continues to mention that…
…”we are not far from the day when customers would become comfortable enough to make expensive purchases over voice-based transaction systems.”
The use of voice assistants is definitely on the rise for helping users with purchase decisions. However, voice authorization is still inferior to other biometrics, such as fingerprint readers and facial recognition. Whether or not banks will capitalize on voice recognition technology to “influence the customer experience and enable banks to attract new customers while retaining new ones” is arguable.
Look for the upcoming report on biometrics at Mercator Advisory Group’s website.
Overview by David Nelyubin, Research Analyst at Mercator Advisory Group