Using Voice Assistants for Frictionless Transactions
Amazon announced a new feature for their Amazon Alexa voice assistant that allows users to send donations to presidential campaigns by simply using their voice. The new feature builds on their previous Alexa election experiences with the aim of “ramping up her election knowledge and experiences”.
Previously, users could ask Alexa US election questions such as “Alexa, when are the polls open?” and “Alexa, who is winning in New York?”. With the addition of election donations via voice, Amazon can provide a richer experience for users. Alexa focuses on three core principles of an objective source of election information, a plethora of choices of news providers and the commitment to making Alexa smarter.
Users can donate from $5 to $200 by simply stating phrases such as “Alexa, donate $200 to [candidate name]”. Candidates will need to register their campaign first and be approved before being eligible for donations. Amazon spokeswoman Kerry Hall said Amazon will charge a processing fee of 2.9% plus 30 cents per donation.
This skill highlights the benefit that voice biometrics would add to frictionless transactions when it becomes available. As users become more comfortable using digital assistants for transactions, voice biometrics will add additional security and confidence. Today, users should be wary of the potential risks of financial transactions without the added security of voice biometrics. Kerry Hall mentioned that users can set up a 4-digit voice code to authenticate the donation, but this security feature is optional.
Voice Biometrics will offer a more frictionless and secure capability for financial transactions. Through voice biometric technologies such as Auraya’s next-generation ArmorVox, users would be able to use their voice for both the transaction and authentication phase. This provides a seamless and delightful experience that negates the need for users to take an extra step and grab their devices to access their one-time passcodes or SMS texts. By using voice biometrics throughout the whole process, it creates a more personalized and secure conversation with Alexa.
