1st March 2006

VoiceVault finds over 60% of UK adults don't use telephone banking systems

YouGov survey reveals nearly one in four have given up but 18 per cent would use it more if a better service existed

LONDON, UK – Wednesday 1st March, 2006 – So what did you give up for Lent?  A YouGov survey commissioned by specialist voice verification provider VoiceVault, today found that 61% of UK adults currently don’t use or simply avoid telephone banking systems, but nearly one in five would use them more if service improved.

38% of people in the UK have never used a telephone banking service, and 23% have stopped using a telephone banking system after one or more tries.  8% admitted to continuing to use a telephone banking service even though the service isn’t very good.  However, it’s not all bad news, as nearly one in four (23%) admitted to using a telephone banking service that is very good.

51% of those who had used a telephone banking system said that an annoying element was waiting to talk to someone directly.  30% of people said that having to remember PIN numbers and passwords and a further 16% said that having to reveal personal information was equally annoying.

“This is a wake-up call to banks, and it’s not a case for them to quit whilst they are behind,” said Paul Lindsey, Executive Chairman of VoiceVault, “Customers are crying out for a better, more secure service and banks can and must provide them.  We’re getting vocal about this issue as there is – now – a safe, secure and cost-effective way!”

Coinciding with the results of the survey, VoiceVault launched the latest version of its software for banks that provides customers with the ability to get access to telephone banking systems just by using their voice, which provides fast and secure access without the need for PIN numbers and passwords.

The national YouGov survey of 2,088 adults above the age of 18 also found that:

• 18% of people who had used a telephone banking system would use it more if the service improved.  Nearly a quarter (22%) of 18 to 29-year-olds said that they would increase their use of telephone banking systems if the service improved.

• Almost one in five (19%) Londoners believed that telephone banking was more secure than Internet banking. 

• 45% of respondents in the C2DE Social Grade have never used a telephone banking system, compared with 32% in the ABC1 Social Grade.  The Midlands and Wales had the highest number of respondents (42%) who had not used a telephone banking system.

• The 18 to 29-year-old age category had the lowest patience of all groups, quitting after just one try (12% versus 8% for those older).  The 30 to 50-year-old age category had the highest satisfaction of telephone banking systems, with 28% claiming they used a very good telephone banking service; however, it also had the highest number of quitters who had used the system more than once and then stopped (17%).

VoiceVault’s highly secure products and services automates the process of verifying the identity of callers to telephone banking call centres and IVR systems. As well as reducing the risk of identity theft and fraud, VoiceVault helps banks improve the quality of service and efficiency by eliminating the time it takes a call centre operative to identify and verify a caller. VoiceVault can also enable ‘speak on the dotted line’ voice authorisation for financial transactions or when buying products over the phone.  This provides protection against ‘card not present’ fraud, the fastest growing type of fraud in the UK.

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Founded in 2005 and with offices in the UK, Ireland and the US, VoiceVault provides voice-based biometric verification security and identity management products and services to public and private organisations around the world.  Based on VoiceVault™, the only voice verification platform to be both certified and accredited to issue Advanced Electronic Signatures (voice digital certificates) and ISO 17799 accredited, these products and services provide cost-effective, highly secure and practical solutions for organisations and their customers to offer better security and identity management as well as advanced procurement and payment solutions via the telephone or other services accessible over the Internet or internal networks. 

For more information, visit www.voicevault.com

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