IVR System to Voice Activate the ATM - Humorous Tales in the Making?
June 15, 2011
By Susan J. Campbell, TMCnet Contributing Editor
Would you perceive a voice activated ATM to be a tool of convenience, or one that puts your money at risk? This may be one question for Russians to ponder as the nation will soon see ATMs equipped with voice-analysis equipment and an IVR system to determine if the individual seeking credit is indeed the person on the account.
This Associated Content
piece shared that Russia’s largest bank, Sberbank, is in the process of testing ATMs that use an
IVR system an voice analysis software to determine if they credit card applicant applying by way of the automated machines is actually telling the truth. The ATM is designed to ask questions regarding employment and other details normally involved with a credit application.
The Speech Technology Center developed the
software, which should be able to assess the nervousness and anxiety that is involuntarily hidden in vocal responses when lying. Of course, with the promise of this kind of IVR system, it does make you wonder if it will work on that scammer with no conscious, one who may not experience any anxiety or associated guilty when lying.
Most of us have interacted with an IVR system at some point and while some of these situations have been positive; there are others that leave much to be desired. There are times you may ask for the billing center and you are automatically sent to sales. Or, you receive the inevitable, “I’m sorry, I didn’t get that. Can you please repeat your request?” How many times do you want to repeat your Social Security number into the ATM’s IVR system before you lose faith?
And, if such problems occur, it isn’t likely to bode well for the Russian bank’s brand among its customers. The individual that must repeat their place of employment several times to achieve understanding is likely to get
frustrated and may even seek to take his business elsewhere. Even worse, the ATM may consider his frustration to be a change in his voice to indicate he is lying. Will that hurt his credit if the ATM makes the mistake?
The ultimate success of the IVR system within the Russian ATMs will depend greatly upon the viability of the technology in place, and the people’s
confidence in the system. If the IVR is more prone to mistakes or the software can’t handle the dynamics, it is likely to fail rather quickly. And, you can’t help but think there will be those individuals willing to test the system to see how quickly they can trick it. The tales are likely to start arriving from Russia, but success could push this technology to other locations.
Susan J. Campbell is a contributing editor for TMCnet and has also written for eastbiz.com. To read more of Susan’s articles, please visit her columnist page.Edited by Juliana Kenny