BC – Canada’s first-ever authenticated voice banking service using Amazon Alexa, launched from creator Central 1.
Central 1 clients, Innovation Credit Union and Conexus Credit Union, are piloting the technology that allows customers to use their voice to command actions for their bank accounts, as if Amazon Alexa were a customer service representative.
In addition to being cutting-edge, the technology is revolutionary for those who may be either visually impaired, unable to leave their homes or use keyboards or smartphones to conduct their banking.
Customers can make payments, send money to vendors, transfer money between accounts, and better understand their financial wellness with just their voice.
Central 1’s smart, conversational user interface pairs hands-free functionality with human-like dialogue interaction, and leverages machine learning and artificial intelligence to continually improve its own accuracy.
“We’re committed to providing our clients with top of the line, cutting edge technology and services,” said Mark Blucher, President & CEO of Central 1.
“As an organization at the forefront of fintech innovation in Canada we’re thrilled to showcase our authenticated voice banking solution that, as we continue provide the technology to more clients, will add ease and accessibility to the banking experience.”
Central 1’s Mobile Banking and Payments team followed best practices in design thinking, customer experience and Lean principles when developing the technology.
Development was done in conjunction with Point One Digital, a leading design agency from San Francisco, that was instrumental in developing the Conversational User Interface design strategy.
Contributing to the conversational aspect of the skill is the inclusion of ‘Easter eggs.’ These added features make Central 1’s Amazon Alexa banking engaging and will keep it interesting for users, in addition to providing light-hearted opportunities for including financial wellbeing tips.
Central 1 designed the service to be compatible with Alexa because Amazon Web Services provides a high level of security and flexibility, in addition to the fact that Alexa skills are long standing and highly developer-friendly. The service has high level of authentication and security measures built in, including an industry standard technology OAuth and voice biometrics security measures provided by Amazon.
Innovation and Conexus Credit Unions are launching the Amazon Alexa voice banking service with targeted testing audiences, with plans to release the technology to all members in the fall.
For more information about Central 1’s products and services, please visit: www.central1.com.
