Independent Banker - July 2017 - 62

Nuts & Bolts
makes biometrics more convenient for
the customer and more operationally
efficient for banks. Paul Stockford,
chief analyst for Saddletree Research
in Scottsdale, Ariz., notes that voice
biometric technology generally reduces
the amount of time spent on verification
during phone calls, creating cost
savings for banks. " Every second
translates into dollars, and shaving 30
seconds off a number of calls results in
significant savings, " he says.
At the same time, the customer
experience is enhanced. Staff members
have all account information at
their fingertips and can focus on the
interaction, not the identification.
" You can make people feel special,
like you would if you immediately
recognize them, " Stockford continues.
" The customer gets to feel more special,
and the bank is taking as much
as 30 seconds off every call. That's
definitely a win-win. "
While the megabanks have begun
deploying various biometric technologies
over the past several years,
community banks have been slower
to take the plunge. One bank that's
on the verge is PyraMax Bank, a
infrared sensing device.
Monica Baker, SVP, chief brand
officer for PyraMax Bank, says the
bank's primary motivation for exploring
biometrics was delivering peace
of mind for customers. " No one else
can come in with cards and a driver's
license and pretend to be you, " she
says. " We're setting a tone from
the customer's perspective that we
consider safety and the protection of
their assets to be our priority. "
Easy access
Baker expects Verifast to enhance
the customer experience. She notes
that while PyraMax, like most community
banks, emphasizes knowing
its customers personally, there can
be turnover among tellers, or the
customer may drop by a branch they
don't normally visit. " It's frustrating
if you've been banking somewhere
for 30 years and someone asks to see
your driver's license, " she observes.
" With biometrics, customers don't
have to prove their identity, and it
becomes more of a welcoming experience,
rather than an intrusive one. "
PyraMax will introduce Verifast:
Palm Authentication to its branches
in October. Employees, Baker reports,
are enthusiastic. " This is taking us
from traditional banking to a totally
different customer experience, with
greater safety and a more social interaction, "
she says.
$450 million-asset community bank
headquartered in Greenfield, Wis. It
has partnered with Fiserv to deploy
Verifast: Palm Authentication, a technology
that detects the customer's
unique palm vein pattern. It grabs
more than five million reference
points when a palm is held over the
Bridge Community Bank introduced
a combination of finger and
facial recognition technology, called
Super ID, developed by Wisconsinbased
Tascet Inc. more than four
years ago. Customers can walk in and
stand in front of a camera or put a
finger on a pad and be automatically
identified. Customers' account information,
provided by Bridge's Jack
Henry core system, will automatically
be populated on bank screens.
CEO Steen says that Bridge began
exploring biometrics out of security
concerns. " There's a lot of fraud in all
things payments, " he observes. " Security
is critical. I saw this as a way to
work toward that solution. "
He believes the speed and accuracy
62 ICBA IndependentBanker July 2017
" If you start with the
premise that you know
for certain that you've
identified the customer,
the first and biggest
risk is handled. "
-BOB STEEN,
BRIDGE COMMUNITY BANK
with which biometrics can provide
customer identification and comprehensive
account information will
improve staff performance and operational
efficiency.
" Being a teller is a hard job, " he
says. " If a customer has multiple
accounts and is moving money, it can
be confusing. Tellers have to make
decisions instantly and do what the
customer wants. If you start with the
premise that you know for certain
that you've identified the customer,
the first and biggest risk is handled. "
Steen emphasizes that Bridge's
deployment of Super ID is still a work
in progress. However, the community
bank is confident enough that it now
requires all new accounts to enroll as
a 16-digit anonymous Super ID-and
customers have been receptive. " I
thought we would have pushback
from customers, but we've had zero
pushback, " Steen notes. " They know
we're doing everything we can to
improve security, and that has resonated
with customers. "
Just say the word
Voice biometric technology, which
creates a unique voiceprint file for
customers, has been rapidly becoming
more sophisticated, leading to
increased adoption by some larger
banks and financial institution call
centers. Among the options are
Nuance's Nina virtual assistant, which
answers customer questions via text
or voice and will send the interaction
to a live customer service representative
if it is unable to answer the query
directly. Brett Beranek, director of
product strategy for security, biometric
and fraud prevention at Nuance,
Independent Banker - July 2017

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