Customers or financial advisors who call into Manulife for information about new products or checking the status of a transaction, can now use a new voice biometric response system that recognizes their voice, Manulife announced today.

harrison_marianne_articleManulife’s customer service centre answers 28,000 calls a day, said Marianne Harrison, president and CEO of Manulife Canada. Advisors who choose the new, bilingual interactive voice response system can more easily access their accounts by saying “at Manulife my voice is my password” rather than the more tedious use of passwords, PINs and answering security questions.

Manulife has partnered with Nuance, a California company that has previously introduced the voice technology system to companies like U.S.-based FedEx and British-based Barclays Bank. Manulife is the first company in Canada to offer the system.

Previously, users had to answer either a series of questions or input a number of phone prompts, forcing them to adapt to how the system worked, said Robert Weideman, general manager and executive vice president of Nuance Communications Inc.

“What’s happened now is that we’ve actually turned to some technology that adapts to the user and it’s more natural now,” said Weideman.

The system was first introduced in July to Manulife Bank customers and is now being offered to advisors who contact them for product information, placing new business or checking on existing mutual or segregated fund business on behalf of their clients. The service may be rolled out at a future date to help advisors with group pension questions.