A UK voice biometrics start-up has launched an iPhone app it says could replace PINs as a way to validate financial transactions.
Voicekey - developed from research at Nottingham Trent University - uses patent-pending software to extract unique features from an individual's voice in order to create bespoke biometric classifiers that can be stored in a central database or locally on a user's smartphone.
Users download the app and are prompted to repeat a simple pattern of words or numbers three times to enrol. Voicekey algorithms then generate a user-specific voice biometric classifier, which after encryption is stored securely on the mobile phone.
Once enrolled, users then identify themselves by repeating a simple random pattern of numbers or phrases.
Voicekey has already launched an iPhone app, called OpenSezMe, which it is pitching as a tool for people to store sensitive information, such as passwords, on their handsets.
However, the firm says it is also working with multinationals to integrate the technology into their systems, citing financial transaction confirmations and call centre identification as two possible uses.