Banks will recognise your voice when you call them with a query

The high-street banks’ enthusiastic embrace of developing technology has taken customers further from the branches with the launch of mortgage advisers on video and a new voice recognition system to scour through bank statements.

Santander last week launched a feature on one of its banking apps which allows customers to search through what they spent using their voice, a feature that will later be expanded to allow them to make payments.

It comes at the same time as Lloyds and Halifax customers are able to talk to mortgage advisers via video instead of phone after making an appointment.

Banks have increasingly being making use of the possibilities available with new technologies. Last month HSBC announced it will roll out voice recognition and touch ID services for 15 million customers by the summer.

The Santander “voice banking” technology comes through its Smartbank app and allows customers to ask about their previous transactions on a particular day, week or month. This will result in queries such as “How much did I spend on New Year’s Eve?” while later versions will allow them to ask “How much did I spend in Starbucks?”. A voice replies with the answer.

The later version will enable users to make payments, report lost cards and ask a broader range of questions about what they spend. The bank said it will allow for vulnerable customers who bank from home to use their voice to communicate.

A spokesman for the bank said that the app will only recognise the users’ voice: “The customer will have to complete their customer ID followed by, depending on their credentials, either their full pass code and registration number or any three numbers of the five-digit registration number. It is also worth noting that in the tutorial we urge people to not keep the volume on in public.”

Lloyds, meanwhile, has launched the video mortgage advice service following a trial last year. Customers book appointments with a mortgage broker and can then talk to staff online. David Oldfield, group director for retail and consumer finance, said video works for people who want a face-to-face conversation but do not want to visit a branch.