NAB selects Telstra and Salmat VeCommerce to supply voice biometric solution

Telstra and Salmat VeCommerce announced today that Telstra has deployed a Salmat VeCommerce voice biometric solution, VeSecure, at the National Australia Bank (NAB) in what is a first for the Australian banking industry.

The bespoke solution is designed to improve the customer experience on NAB’s telephone banking and enhance security and privacy by removing the need for customers to remember PINs and passwords.

Telstra led the sale and implementation of VeSecure as part of the bank’s ongoing customer service initiative. This follows the deployment of VeConnect at the bank earlier this year to enhance the routing of telephone banking calls and the launch of a single telephone number (136 NAB) to cover all of the bank’s customer enquiries.

Using the voice biometric functionality of VeSecure, once callers have registered their unique voiceprint, they simply need to recite their individual account number to have their identity verified.

NAB Personal Banking's Program Manager, Direct Channels Speech Program, Sam Jackel said NAB was always looking for ways to improve customer experience and deliver the highest levels of security.

“Our objective is to provide customers with a more convenient, faster and easy-to-use telephone banking experience while simultaneously improving identity security,” Mr Jackel said.

Telstra Enterprise & Government General Manager for Financial Services, Rocky Scopelliti, said the introduction of speech recognition and voice biometric technology at NAB has set an Australian benchmark for customer service in the banking industry.

“Raising the bar on the customer service experience is the key to driving business growth. Telstra has long been an advocate of speech technologies as it improves the way in which people and organisations work. This solution boosts productivity, whilst fundamentally addressing the inherent concerns of fraud. We are confident that NAB’s employees and customers will realise the significant benefits of this unique service from the outset,” Mr Scopelliti said.

Paul Magee, Managing Director of VeCommerce, said, “We are very pleased to see NAB continue their customer service innovation with the implementation of VeSecure. To be able to enhance the customer experience, whilst providing another layer of privacy and security is a great combination.”

NAB chose to partner with Telstra and VeCommerce as a result of their proven track record in delivering speech-enabled solutions.

Telstra managed the coordination and deployment of the solution that integrates into NAB’s existing telephony infrastructure and utilises Nuance’s Verifier engine as a component of VeSecure. Telstra will also provide first level support for the solution.

About Salmat VeCommerce
Salmat VeCommerce, a Salmat company (ASX:SLM), assists organisations deliver exceptional customer interactions. The company is a leading supplier of customer service solutions that enable organisations to enhance consumer experience, improve efficiency, increase revenues and improve security and privacy for consumers. It has developed voice self-service solutions since 1997 and today is one of the world's most experienced and successful providers of applications that utilise speech recognition, voice biometrics and other related interaction technologies

About National Australia Bank
National Australia Group is an international financial services organisation that provides a comprehensive and integrated range of financial products and services. The Group is structured around regional banking and wealth management operations and an international capital markets and institutional banking business.

In Australia, National Australia Group connects with millions of customers every day across retail, business and private banking, and wealth management. Brands include NAB and MLC.

About Telstra
Telstra Corporation Ltd is Australia's leading telecommunications and information services company, with one of the best-known brands in the country. Telstra is the only true media communications company in Australia that can provide customers with a fully integrated telecommunications experience across fixed line, mobiles, broadband (BigPond), information, transaction and search (Sensis) and pay TV (FOXTEL). By using an integrated suite of network and media assets, Telstra is creating a world of 1-click, 1-touch, 1-command, any screen solutions that are integrated, operate in real-time, and are simple, easy and valued by customers. Telstra's international businesses include CSL New World Mobility Group, one of Hong Kong's leading mobile operators; TelstraClear Limited, the second largest full service carrier in New Zealand; Reach Ltd, a provider of global connectivity and international voice and satellite services and SouFun Holdings Limited, a leading real estate and furnishings website in China.