Santander rolls out voice-recognition via iPhone for customers on the move

Santander is launching a service that will allow customers to use voice recognition technology to tell their mobile phones to monitor and recount their spending habits and make payments on the move.

Santander has claimed to be the first bank in the UK to enable customers using an iPhone to talk to its banking app, SmartBank. The app can tell customers how much they have spent going back a year, or within a certain timeframe, or at a particular shop. Within the next six months Santander aims to expand the functions available using voice technology to allow customers to make payments, set up account alerts or report lost cards. Sigga Sigurdardottir, head of customer and innovation at Santander, said the voice technology, provided by Nuance Communications, was programmed to evolve and become more intuitive the more it was used. Lloyds is launching its mortgage advice service across a video link accessible through a laptop, desktop or tablet computer. The service enables customers to have a face-to-face interview online, removing the need to travel to a branch or speak to an adviser by phone. The move comes as banks scale down networks to cut costs and fewer customers visit branches.

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