Credit union contact centers can authenticate members by verifying what they know, what they have, and who they are. Multi-factor authentication includes verifying each of these. Verification can be done in the following ways: 

• What you know—Out of wallet questions, recent transactions 
• What you have—One-time passcodes, mobile apps 
• Who you are—Voice biometrics, face biometrics 

Voice and face biometrics are the newest addition to the authentication space. The technological advancements can lead to fraud prevention that’s difficult for fraudsters to replicate. 

Illuma Founder/CEO Milind Borkar, who recently spoke at the 2022 CUNA Operations & Member Experience and CUNA Technology Council Conference in Las Vegas, says that biometrics are necessary because knowledge-based authentication is broken. 

“On average, credit unions spend about 90% on the authentication Q&A process. Some are quicker, some are longer. In any case, it’s a huge chunk of time for the typical phone call.” Borkar says. “And the Q&A process isn’t as secure as it once was. Fraudsters are armed with more information and they’re getting smarter with social engineering.” 

Data from Fusion BPO Services shows that 25% of agent-member interaction is authentication, 85% of consumers are dissatisfied with Q&A authentication, 30% legitimate callers are falsely tagged as fraudsters, and 60% of well-prepared fraudsters are falsely authenticated. Additionally, Aite-Novarica Group reports that 61% of fraud losses from account takeovers involve the call center, with Flashpoint’s data showing that it costs fraudsters an average of $4 to obtain a complete digital profile and financial info on the dark web. 

Borkar believes passive authentication can improve some of those statistics and increase the member experience. While active authentication prompts the member to take specific actions and tarnishes the member experience, passive authentication naturally verifies members to speed up the process and decrease friction. 

“We want the contact center team to be focused on generating value for the members, rather than dual security measures. Passive voice authentication brings the brick-and-mortar member experience to your contact center,” Borkar says, adding that Illuma’s voice biometrics product, Illuma Shield™, has reduced the average call time by 84% and improved agent impact scores by 72.6%. He adds that it has improved member satisfaction, as evidenced by a 21.8% higher member satisfaction rate and a 97% lower member dissatisfaction rate. 

Borkar boils down passive authentication by saying it improves: 

• Member experience—Members need help now, and passive authentication allows the agent to tend to their needs without getting bogged down by the verification process, improving the member and employee experience. 
• Efficiency—Faster authentication equals shorter call times, which equals more answered calls, shorter holds, less abandons, and payroll savings. 
• Security—Convenience no longer needs to be compromised for security. An easy additional security and anti-fraud layer to protect members’ money and data. 

This article is part of  Tech22, CUNA News’ special focus on innovations and developments in technology. Follow the conversation on Twitter via #Tech22.