Nuance Nina ID 2.0 Allows Nina to Identify Customers by the Sound of Their Voice – or with a Selfie           

Nuance Communications, Inc. (NASDAQ: NUAN) today announced Nina ID 2.0, which adds integrated multi-factor authentication to the Nina Virtual Assistant for customer service. Introduced in 2012, Nina ID was the first virtual assistant for mobile customer service with integrated voice biometrics, and quickly expanded to support virtual assistant-powered customer service on web sites, within messaging apps and even via SMS.  Global brands around the world have implemented virtual assistants powered by the Nina platform, including Dom from Domino’s, INGE from ING NL, Jess from JetStar, and the new Web virtual assistant for USAA.

To see how ING NL uses Nuance’s Nina ID, go here.

Today, with the introduction of Nina ID 2.0, enterprises can add an unmatched level of security to their mobile apps, allowing their customers to be automatically authenticated by saying a simple voice passphrase or taking a selfie.  Nina uses AI-powered voice biometrics and face recognition to confirm the identity of the user by the sound of their voice and/or their face.  This not only delivers a significant security benefit, it also creates a smoother authentication process, and allows the app to personalise the user experience.

With the introduction of Nina ID 2.0, Nina becomes the first virtual assistant to recognise consumers by the sound of their voice, or by “selfie,” and which combats fraud by leveraging behavioural biometrics. By integrating biometric security with a virtual assistant, Nina ID creates a more intelligent, more human-like experience for consumers who are transacting on the go, while at the same time fighting the increase in fraud that today permeates not only online channels, but phone, mobile, SMS and more.

The benefits of Nina ID include:

• Improved customer experience – by allowing consumers to choose how they authenticate – via voice or face, and enabling these more human-like engagements, Nina ID starts each customer engagement off with a positive interaction.
• Strong Security, Across Authentication Methods – leveraging the unique characteristics of a consumer’s voice, or similarly the unique attributes of a face, Nina ID securely authenticates each customer with proven biometric technology. And with the Nina ID risk engine, authentication factors that are provisioned by third parties such as fingerprint recognition on smartphones can be managed to ensure desired security levels are maintained regardless of the authentication method chosen by the customer.
• Say so long to passwords and other forms of knowledge-based authentication – With multiple biometric modalities offered in Nina ID, organisations can more easily transition away from PINs, passwords and security questions as their primary form of authentication and security.
• More seamless authentication process – once a consumer has created their unique voiceprint or faceprint, authentication can take place in a matter of seconds.
• Active fraudster detection – by leveraging behavioral biometrics in the background, Nina ID is constantly scanning for potential fraud activity to keep consumers safe.

“Consumers today need to be able to reach out and engage with brands quickly and easily – wherever they are – and that’s often from a mobile device,” said Robert Weideman, general manager and executive vice president, Nuance Enterprise Division. “Nina ID brings to the virtual assistant world the same proven Nuance biometrics technologies used by millions of consumers via leading organisations such as Barclays, ING Netherlands, Tangerine Bank, Tatra Banka, Turkcell, Santander Mexico and Vodacom South Africa.”

“Intelligent authentication goes hand-in-hand with the expansion of virtual agents and intelligent assistants,” explained Dan Miller, Lead Analyst at Opus Research. “With Nina ID, Nuance defined a simple way to establish secure, trusted and personalised links between customers and the brands with which they carry out business.”

For more information about Nina ID, please visit here.