Online broker TD Waterhouse has signed a two year contract for an Advanced Speech Recognition (ASR) service hosted by BT and Eckoh Technologies.
The new service will be used by investors to access real-time share price information on more than 1000 UK-listed companies, using automated speech recognition technology.
The system is hosted on a call processing platform, developed and operated by Eckoh Technologies, that has a capacity of over 500,000 speech recognition calls an hour.
TD Waterhouse initially piloted the interactive voice response (IVR) service internally before offering a branded version to corporate customers.
Darren Hepworth, vice president, customer contact centre, TD Waterhouse, says the service gives customers swift access to the real-time prices they need: "We are handling increasing levels of calls and realised we required a solution that will enable us to maintain the high quality of service we offer our customers as demand increases."
BT says the hosted, pay-as-you-go service will enable TD Waterhouse to use new technology to improve customer service without the need for upfront investment. The service will also allow the broker to focus on customers with more complex and revenue-generating calls, such as share transactions.