Introducing Siri, Alexa, Google Home: Your Personal Banking Assistants
Ever wish you could check your bank account balance and pay bills without signing into online banking every time? With advancements in technology, you no longer have to wish but simply enjoy the realization of your wish. So, who or what is it that will fulfill the role of answering your financial enquires and carrying out your transactions? What may surprise you is that you may already have the tool, and what may surprise you even more is that they are your woodchuck chuck riddle solvers and weather tellers—just an upgraded version. That’s right, our virtual personal assistants Siri, Alexa, and Google Home have been promoted to your qualified personal banking assistants.
Major US banks such as Bank of America, US Bank, Capital One, and JP Morgan Chase are actively incorporating voice assistants into their routines. Customers can now track payments and receipts, monitor due dates, and send instant e-bills via voice commands without the need to login online each time. The process is fairly simple. Customers must use a four-digit personal PIN, which is recommended to be different from the access PIN, before the assistants will provide any information. What then appears on your screen is your account details—at a fraction of the speed it would take to manually login.
There are several differences among the three voice assistants. Google Home and Alexa provide billing due dates and recent transaction details. To initiate the action, users of Google Home and Alexa must create a secure connection between their bank and the devices through Google’s Actions and Alexa’s Skills. Google Home also adds an additional layer of security through its ability to conduct individual voice recognition. The most restrictive of the three is Siri, who will show you banking information but will not pay your bills.
The extent to which various banks integrate voice technology into their customer experience varies. As an adopter of Siri, PayPal US only allows the minimum of account enquiries. The credit card companies Capital One and American Express allow clients to further check their balances and pay bills through Alexa. US Bank leads the trend by enabling users to make digital payments—not just regular payments such as mortgages—to US bank credit cards. Furthermore, while most banks use only one of the three platforms—Siri, Alexa, or Google Home, US bank employs all three. [Field]
Certainly, the convenience comes at some cost. The immediate challenge is that of security as the relatively new digital voice assistants are exploitable by cyber hackers. Connected microphones, complex interface, and personal data that grows with every command put users in a vulnerable position. Consumers should also caution against banks and voice assistant manufacturers who may (unintentionally) collect information on users’ voice and search history, threatening consumer privacy rights. Moreover, there is a potential for financial fraud: the voice of consumers can be recorded and manipulated to give commands leading to substantial losses. Aside from security issues, another drawback is the accuracy of voice recognition as the technology is still in the early stages of development.
To address the security concerns, US Bank has clarified its procedures and protection measures. Digital assistants do not store security information such as passcodes, account numbers, or other identifiable data. Transactions via virtual voice assistants are also protected by the online risk-free guarantee, which covers 100% of the losses from unauthorized transactions. US Bank sets a good example of recognizing and addressing consumer concerns. Others who strive for greater user acceptance of digital voice assistants should follow the bank's footstep.
The use of voice assistants in banking is a new concept with immense growth potential. Currently, 19.2% of consumers are willing to use voice assistants, but that number is expected to grow to 30.9% in three years. The growing popularity of voice-enabled smart technologies will translate into wider applications in financial industries. As a next step, banks are working to allow customers to transfer money (not just payments) through voice. However, the use of voice technology is not limited to personal banking; the potential to improve corporate and consumer experience through voice assistants also has applications in investment banking. JP Morgan and Amazon have recently partnered to introduce Alexa into the investment banking sector. Eventually, Alexa will be able to provide analyst reports and stock information of the firm and execute trade orders for clients.
Technology is transforming the financial industry, and it’s all very exciting. Who would have imagined that some programming codes and a speaker could deliver our financial requests? Digital voice assistants enhance customer experience and help banks to better serve their customers. As Gareth Gaston, Vice President of Omnichannel at US Bank says, “Voice technology is going to be central to the future of digital interaction.” While the issues of information security and voice recognition accuracy still remain, both can be improved with time. Who knows what the future holds?