Xura is working alongside SpeechPro to pilot their biometric technology and offer enterprise customers, particularly those in the Financial Services Sector, the ability to provide secure facial recognition and voice authentication within a mobile app, alongside, and in combination with, traditional passwords.

"Entering complex passwords or one-time passcodes into a mobile device to access an app can often be a frustrating experience," says Armin Barbalata, SVP, Secure Communications at Xura. "Using biometrics instead of traditional passwords or codes can remove this roadblock and improve the ease of use. In addition, the combination of face and voice biometric analysis increases the accuracy of authentication, and provides additional security when connecting to apps that contain confidential data."

By combining voice and face recognition, with the ability to detect facial movements and verbally enter a passcode, any business can securely authenticate transactions via strong voice and video procedures, which is especially relevant for financial sector services. This, used in combination with one-time passcodes sent via text message, means the user is heavily authenticated, with the level of authentication going up depending on the type / value of the transaction.

For example, a user can simply scan their face and voice using their smartphone's built-in camera and microphone to gain access to an account or message. This ensures a user is genuine, and prevents fraudulent log-in attempts. SpeechPro's VoiceKey OnePass software can be added to an app or website so that, under specific scenarios (high value money transfers), the customer must pass several unique live "anti-spoofing" tests in order to login. In cases involving a number of people sharing the same terminal, SpeechPro's technology can also recognise multiple users' identities.

Barbalata continues, "Security and user experience are often considered to be at odds with each other, but the use of biometrics, specifically face and voice recognition, actually makes it easier to log in, with a greater level of protection. While passcodes can still play a part in the login process, users no longer have to remember them or carry a dongle wherever they go."

"Combining SpeechPro's experience in voice intelligence and biometrics with Xura's experience in secure messaging and multi-factor authentication, has presented the opportunity for a new service quite unique to the marketplace," says Alexey Khitrov, President of SpeechPro, "We're excited for the future of face and voice biometrics, and look forward to a continued relationship."

The Xura / SpeechPro pilot will be demonstrated at Money20/20 Europe in Copenhagen, Denmark, from the 4th - 7th April. Drop by Xura's stand, K1, where we will be showcasing our award-winning solutions that enable rich and secure real-time engagement, which are already being used by some of the world's leading financial services organizations to have intelligent, multi-channel interactions with customers. To set up a meeting, please emailevents@xura.com