ebook: biometric technology (english)
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FINTECH SERIE BY innovation edge
BIOMETRICTECHNOLOGY
THE BIOMETRIC SYSTEMS (FINGERPRINTS
VOICE IRIS) TAKE OFF FOR THE
IDENTIFICATION AND PERSONS RECOGNITION
Passwords are inconvenient and insecure and theirend is in sight
01 Banks have muchto gain frombiometrics
02 Check the identityof new customers 03
04 05 INFOGRAPHIC
Biometrictechnology
HSBCacutes bid forbiometrics
INTERVIEW
ldquoBanks have much to gain from biometricsrdquo
01
Juliaacuten Fieacuterrez is a senior lecturer at the Escuela
Politeacutecnica Superior and a member of the ATVS -
Biometric Recognition Group at the Autoacutenoma
University in Madrid A graduate in Communications
Engineering from the Madrid Polytechnic University
he obtained his doctorate in 2006 with the
Extraordinary Prize and was a Marie Curie post-
doctoral fellow at Michigan State University between
2007 and 2009 He has just received the 2015 Miguel
Catalaacuten Award for researchers aged under 40
FINTECH SERIE middot FEBRUARY 2016 middot wwwcentrodeinnovacionbbvacomen
A specialist in biometrics and
currently traveling between
Japan and China to present his
projects Juliaacuten Fieacuterrez has
spent 15 years studying
biometric systems technologies
for speech face fingerprint and
written signatures In 2002 he
began working with the
identification laboratory of the
criminalistics service at the
Head Office of the Guardia Civil
and has also brought biometrics
to the National Cryptological
Center and Telefoacutenica and
more recently to Cecabank A
ldquoclose contact with these
companies and institutionsrdquo has
given him an insight into the
real problems and opportunities
of biometric systems
Is recognizing and identifying
people through biometric
systems the latest fashion
Quite the reverse ndashthe general
perception of biometric systems
is not very positive People
dont see it as being very useful
and being unnecessarily
sophisticated But this type of
systems has been used very
successfully for decades in
limited fields such as forensic
research It was only about 20
years ago at the end of the
1990s when the systems were
first used in large-scale
applications for the general
public such as in access
controls to buildings and
restricted areas
FINTECH SERIE middot FEBRUARY 2016 middot wwwcentrodeinnovacionbbvacomen
Werent they useful
Biometric systems at the time
were poorly perceived for two
reasons First back then the
systems were very limited and
not very technologically
advanced in comparison with
the ones we have today They
were not very ergonomic and
incapable of dealing with
diversity and difficulty in
relatively uncontrolled
operational environments
They were not very useful for
the applications for which they
were designed Rather than
saving time or increasing the
level of security they were an
inconvenience In second
place high hopes ndashexcessively
sondash were invested in these
systems mostly thanks to
popular culture and because of
ambitious and unrealistic
claims Both factors led to
major commercial failures in
this type of system After that
in the last 15 years users who
are unfamiliar with the
technology and technicians
with no expertise in this area
have only naturally been fairly
reluctant to use and deploy this
type of systems
Has the situation changed
Currently the recent and
significant advances in multiple
fields of technology mean that
biometric applications are being
deployed ever more widely
and overcoming the
understandable barriers of
reticence that were so
widespread Several areas have
seen a substantial development
in recent years ergonomics
and sensor quality (such as
those included in smartphones
and other tactile devices)
robust recognition algorithms in
realistic and relatively
uncontrolled operational
conditions and automatic
learning that exploits large
datasets
FINTECH SERIE middot FEBRUARY 2016 middot wwwcentrodeinnovacionbbvacomen
Why are banks companies and governments so interested in
this type of recognition today
Because they have multiple applications and are of crucial
importance These technologies will reduce or eliminate
paperwork in many spheres of e-government in medical records
and legal processes they will streamline many processes
requiring the authentication of individuals they will help prevent
internal and external fraud in companies and institutions they
will make it possible to monitor and certify the skills obtained by
students in distance learning and much more The present and
future of these technologies is very promising
Is this the end of passwords
The aim of biometric systems is not to substitute the current
processes of authentication either cards keys or passwords
The target most researchers working in these technologies are
aiming for at the moment is to improve some aspects of the
current authentication processes by supplementing them in
some cases replacing certain processes in others and
incorporating new processes which were previously impossible
FINTECH SERIE middot FEBRUARY 2016 middot wwwcentrodeinnovacionbbvacomen
Will biometric technology live
alongside passwords
Rather than thinking of doing
away with passwords its more
a case of developing a
complete authentication system
that uses a password and then
improve one or several aspects
of this system (security speed
convenience ease of
management maintenance
costs and so on) by introducing
biometric systems
With this focus in mind I think
well see the coexistence of new
password-free developments
like unlocking cellphones based
on fingerprints or facial images
with a multitude of systems that
continue using passwords or
keys to a certain degree
perhaps supplemented with
some biometric information
The question is not whether
biometrics can eliminate
passwords but whether the use
of biometrics can be of help in
the current world of passwords
The response to this question is
definitely yes and to a great
extent
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What is the most secure
biometric recognition method
(voice veins irishellip)
All the biometric recognition
methods existing today have
advantages and drawbacks ndash
from voice and handwriting
through to irises and the
pattern of veins on the hand
Specifically if were talking
about security this necessarily
implies an attacker who wants
to gain illicit access Before
comparing biometric features
with others in the area of
security we would need to
specify the model of attacker
through questions such as how
does the attack occur how
hard is it for the attacker to
achieve his or her aim The
suitability of one biometric
feature or another will depend
on the application in question
the scenario of use the model
of attacker who wishes to
violate the system and the
resources at his or her disposal
There are several current
developments that aim to
homogenize these models and
come up with a standard for
considering a biometric system
secure and for its level of
security One such is the
Common Criteria initiative to
which our group is contributing
thanks to the European project
BEAT (Biometrics Evaluation
and Testing)
One feature can be compared
with another based on factors
such as usability economic
cost durability and so on All
these factors once the
application and scenario have
been determined will point to
one biometric feature or
another or a combination of
several used in a specific way
and with specific sensors as
being the optimum solution So
an iris recognition system that
has no protection against
falsification using printed iris
images may be less secure than
a verification system using a
handwritten signature
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What does it contribute to
banks
The banking environment is
one of the areas that can
benefit most from recent
advances in biometric systems
as many of their operations
depend on the reliable
authentication and
management of their
customers identities Biometrics
can vastly reduce costs such as
the use and recording of
information on paper or the
prevention and control of a
whole range of fraud
Specifically biometric systems
allow the identity of a customer
to be modeled both on one-off
inputs (a handwritten
signature) and in an ongoing
way in the medium and long
term (for example with a
keyboard or mouse and pointer
dynamic)
The detection of anomalous
behavior through these models
is a good way of filtering
possible fraud Todays
technology already allows a full
remote relationship with the
customer by making use of
biometric features such as face
and voice recognition for the
ongoing monitoring of the user
or a handwritten signature on a
touch terminal for
authentication with legal
validity The great difference in
this remote scenario compared
to the scenario with a physical
presence lies in the type of
impostor that seeks to violate
the system the cost of the
attacks impact possible
protection)
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A greater understanding of
these factors is key to the
success of this type of initiatives
in remote operating
environments Much research
is currently being done in this
area and the problem is not
totally resolved Look at the
results of one of the European
projects in which we have also
been working recently TABULA
RASA (Trusted Biometrics
Under Spoofing Attacks) for
example
iquestWhich country is most
advanced in its uptake of
biometrics
All types of countries from the
United States and Japan to
India and China are investing
heavily in the research and
development of these types of
systems as they are aware of
the present and future benefits
these technologies can provide
Not only the governments of
these countries who have
launched programs to fund
research but also companies
like Google Facebook
Microsoft NEC and Fujitsu are
all making a strong
commitment to this type of
technology
FINTECH SERIE middot FEBRUARY 2016 middot wwwcentrodeinnovacionbbvacomen
What sector do you think it
can help most
As I said before the banking
sector has yet to tap into the
substantial advantages offered
by these technologies in recent
years and it has much to gain
from them They can reduce
the costs related with the
management of identities fraud
prevention customer
convenience and the opening
of new customized services
both in person and remotely
Other sectors that will benefit
vastly from developments in
biometrics include distance
learning (students uptake of the
course material can be
monitored and their learning
outcomes can be certified as a
result) e-government
insurance companies notary
services courts medical
registers and health records
and more) In fact any area in
which it is necessary to
authenticate individuals and
subsequently manage these
identities
Are privacy and biometrics
compatible
Yes Most of the current large-
scale developments in
biometric systems are very
aware of the importance of
protecting privacy particularly
in Europe where the legislation
on data protection is clear and
strict
Many of these biometric
systems do not in fact store (on
the biometric template) the
users registration information in
an open way but via encrypted
versions or with very limited
information which ndashin the most
recent developmentsndash are not
even unencrypted for
comparison with other
biometric templates These
techniques for the protection of
biometric templates are in fact
a red-hot issue in research and
an area in which my group at
the UAM is also working
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Millennials do not intend to go into a branch in their
lives Theyre used to taking out all services online and
want to have the same facility with banks But as
highlighted in the BBVA Research article ldquoDigital
contracting of financial services electronic identity as a
key elementrdquo there is no regulatory framework allowing
banks to remotely verify the identity of new customers
02Banks face the challenge of verifying the identity of new customers
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While Google Facebook or
Skype need not verify the actual
identity of the person accessing
their services mdash not even
Amazon mdash registering with a
bank is not so easy ldquoThe
regulatory framework affecting
registering customers in the
financial sector is not
completely homogeneous
globally Some countries
prohibit the registration
processes through digital
channels and require a physical
meeting to proceed with
customer identification and
verification of their identity
Moreover in those places
where non face-to-face
contracting is permitted it is
sometimes difficult to establish
mechanisms for verifying
identity in these digital channels
that reveal unequivocally who
the customer is highlights the
Article
In Mexico for example one of
the objectives of the bank in
2016 is to strengthen controls
and in recent months reading
fingerprints has been extended
to identify customers and open
new accounts As highlighted in
this article in El Universal ldquowith
a customers fingerprint and
photograph identity theft is
impossible when the
fingerprints are already
registeredrdquo
The security problem is
growing as highlighted in this
article by BBVA Research
According to the for Strategic
and International Studies (CSIS)
the cost of cybercrime to the
global economy is about $450
billion In addition the
Ponemon Institute reports that
in 2013 43 of US companies
experienced a breach of data
security Individually the
greatest risks are identity theft
and loss of confidential
information The CSIS estimates
that there were 800 million
stolen personal records in the
same year worldwide In South
Korea for example in a
month over 70 of people
aged between 15 and 65 had
their personal data stolen and
their credit cards were put at
risk In the US according to a
2012 survey conducted by the
Bureau of Justice Statistics
phishing affected 166 million
people at a cost of $247
billion in financial losses
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And how can identification be
guaranteed As highlighted by
BBVA Research The regulatory
framework affecting registering
customers in the financial
sector is not completely
homogeneous globally Some
countries prohibit the
registration processes through
digital channels and require a
physical meeting to proceed
with customer identification
and verification of their identity
Moreover in those places
where non face-to-face
contracting is permitted it is
sometimes difficult to
establish mechanisms for
verifying identity in these
digital channels that reveal
unequivocally who the
customer is highlights the
Article
Returning to Millennials and the
previous generation a survey
by Telstraglobal on generations
X and Y (those born between
1966-1976 and 1977-1994
respectively) indicates that
more than half of respondents
rate trust as the most
important factor of choice
when selecting a financial
services provider One in five
people would share their DNA
to help protect their financial
and personal information and
up to one in two people would
be willing to pay for a mobile
identity In addition less than
half are satisfied with their
institutions security more than
a third have experienced
phishing 40 of victims
believed it was the institutions
fault and 65 is likely to leave
the bank as a consequence of
this
2016 promises to be the
breakout year for biometrics
And banks cannot be left
behind
FINTECH SERIE middot FEBREUAY 2016 middot wwwcentrodeinnovacionbbvacomen
Emilio Martiacutenez CEO of Agnitio the company specializing
in voice biometric systems highlights the benefits of
voiceprints for personal authentication
03INTERVIEW
ldquoPasswords are inconvenient and insecure and their end is in sight
FINTECH SERIE middot FEBRUARY 2016 middot wwwcentrodeinnovacionbbvacomen
How did Agnitio start
AGNITIO started in 2004 as a
spin-off from the Madrid
Polytechnic University A
group of the signal treatment
department had worked for
years with the Guardia Civil
police force to develop a voice
biometric system that would
enable them to identify
criminals and terrorists from
their voices This system was
known from other European
police forces and sparked
considerable interest The
founding members negotiated
a contract with the university
for the transfer of the
technology and thats how
AGNITIO came about
Whats the profile of the
employees
92 of the employees are
engineers or graduates in
areas of advanced technology
This is an extremely
technological company with a
very high component of
R+D+i
How many countries do you
operate in and what sector
interests you most or is most
interested in your services
Agnitio has facilities in over 40
countries around the world
The geographical areas where
we have the greatest presence
are eastern Europe Latin
America and the United States
In the US we have a subsidiary
that sells to and supports our
customers in North America
With regard to market
segments our presence is
above all in the government
security sector (police and
intelligence corps and defense
organizations) followed by the
financial sector
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be identified with an extremely
high degree of accuracy
Do they use complex and
expensive tools
The system is purely software
In other words the voice can
be recorded with any
microphone and theres no
need for any special IT
processing system Normal
servers and computers are
used Whats complex is the
software for processing the
signal ndashhighly complex
mathematical algorithms
efficiently programmed to
respond in fractions of a
second with todays processors
The cost depends on the size
of the project measured in
number of voiceprints that are
to be used andor the number
of parallel processes that our
technology is going to use
What are the features of
biometric voice verification
When someone speaks as well
as the information they transmit
in the form of words the
unique features of their vocal
tract ndashthe larynx the nasal
cavity the palate and so onndash
make an imprint on the sound
waves This voiceprint is
independent of the language
the person is speaking the
phrases theyre saying or the
individuals state of mind Card
technology is capable of
extracting this information and
storing it in the form of a
numerical ldquovoice imprintrdquo When
an unknown person is speaking
on the phone for example that
voice can be compared with
the stored voiceprint and
allows the person speaking to
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These systems are not
accessible to individual
consumers because of their
cost but are acquired and
implemented by government
organizations and financial
institutions
How has the technology
advanced in this field
The study of voice biometrics
began in the 1990s but it
wasnt until the beginning of the
21st century that we saw the
first systems that could be
efficiently used The UPM
delivered the prototype of our
forensic identification system to
the Guardia Civil in 2000 Since
then several pioneering
research groups ndashof which we
are proud to be onendash have
gradually improved and
modified the algorithms to
obtain better results Our
products are already now in the
fourth generation of the
technology
Along with the improvements in
accuracy the calculations can
now be done much faster and
with fewer resources Our
earliest call-monitoring systems
with voice biometrics required
fifty times more processors
than they do today
What advantages does it have
compared to other
identification methods
(fingerprints irishellip)
The various biometric models
are not in competition but
complement each other in a
multi-factor authentication
environment When we come
near a person we use all our
FINTECH SERIE middot FEBRUARY 2016 middot wwwcentrodeinnovacionbbvacomen
ldquosensorsrdquo to identify them their
faces their way of walking
their voice and so on In the
same way in the future people
will be automatically identified
using all the possibilities
available on the devices
Sometimes some will be more
important than others Voice is
very important in situations of
remote authentication when
you cant see or touch the
person ndashin telephone
communications for example
Are they more efficient
The sensors needed to make a
voice authentication are
microphones and today we all
carry these around in our
pocket (in our cellphones) or
we have them on our
computer In terms of cost this
makes it much more efficient
than a fingerprint or iris
recognition which needs a
special sensor requiring special
care And its also the most
natural system Everyones used
to talking to speaking on the
phone Its not something thats
considered intrusive unlike
taking a photo of your eye or
taking your fingerprint
Whats more were increasingly
using our voices to interact with
our surroundings In the future
well communicate with a whole
range of devices in our cars
and homes and at work by
using our voices to give
commands and obtain
information Using our same
voice as a way of authenticating
ourselves will become more
natural than using any other
biometric model Well identify
ourselves with the same
phrases we use when we to talk
with virtual assistants
What can it provide for a
bank
Voice biometric applications in
the world of finance are only
just beginning Perhaps the
application with the best return
on investment today is fraud
detection in call centers The
use of ldquoblacklistsrdquo of voices of
people who have committed
fraud can be used to filter
incoming calls This is having a
massive effect on preventingthe
proliferation of organized gangs
who used the call center to
commit fraud or obtain
information with which to
commit fraud through other
channels
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Voice authentication also
reduces fraud and makes the
user experience on the
telephone or mobile channel
much faster and more user-
friendly
How
Multichannel systems can be
deployed that combine
authentication in the Banks
different channels telephone
mobile Internet video-chat
social networks and so on It
can also be used to sign
documents using the voice
Customers can use their voice
to accept a contract and this
voice converted into a
voiceprint can be used as the
ldquosignaturerdquo for the document
This way a customer can open
a bank account via only the
Internet andor telephone
channel without having to go to
the branch office
Of course many of these
advances must pass through
regulatory filters and be
accompanied by other security
and control systems
In the case of a physical
presence a handwritten
signature is normally used as
authentication when making a
transaction And in many cases
it includes the comparison of an
identity document with a
photograph These procedures
also have their weak points
when the comparison is done
by people who are not expert in
handwriting or in document
recognition As far as I know
theres no comparison of false
positives between physical
presence systems and
biometric models but Im sure
there would be no surprises
and particularly in the case of
very well planned attacks
Is it very difficult to copy a
voice
Voices can be recorded and
reproduced later in attempt to
imitate the legitimate user This
is why the measures to prevent
these recorded attacks (anti-
spoofing in biometric slang) are
very important in any
implementation that does not
involve an agent speaking to
the person on a direct line
Agnitio has several patented
systems that guard against
these attacks using very
sophisticated technology that
detects the
recordingreproduction cycle
and compares it to the direct
use of the voice
It is impossible today to
generate a voice which so
closely resembles someones
voice that it can deceive the
system Both professional
imitators and voice synthesis
systems can easily be detected
by our software
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Do you believe that man-in-the-middle attacks
are more dangerous for voice systems and is it
easier to obtain a voice sample than one from
another part of the body
MITM attacks are normally related with encrypted
communication between two systems This occurs
in voice biometrics when the communication takes
place via the IP network and not the telephone
channel In these cases protecting the voiceprint
by correctly encrypting it is an additional problem
to be resolved by systems integrators to avoid the
possibility of these voiceprints (and digital or facial
biometrics) being intercepted and changed This is
why voice biometrics ndashin particular encrypted
voiceprints (not the voice itself)ndash is neither more
nor less likely to suffer attack by MITM
However the voice is often used as authentication
via a different channel (out of band authentication)
Using a brief telephone call on a previously agreed
phone number and making the user say a certain
phrase is the most convenient and secure way of
making an out-of-band authentication
FINTECH SERIE middot FEBRUARY 2016 middot wwwcentrodeinnovacionbbvacomen
Will biometric systems do
away with passwords
Im convinced that the end of
passwords is in sight at least as
a basic authentication tool
Companies banks and online
retailers canrsquot go on torturing
their customers by making
them remember secure
passwords that need to be
frequently changed Today an
average user can have as many
as 60 passwords with 20 being
the average in a European
country Some studies indicate
that ten of them are used on a
daily basis And of course to
keep them safe they have to be
long contain uppercase and
lowercase symbols and be
frequently changed Thats
impossible to maintain
Theres no doubt that
biometrics is one of the ways in
which this problem is going to
be resolved It will be assisted
by other security technologies
to ensure that the entire
process is secure and that the
security is sufficiently
dimensioned for the information
its protecting Im convinced
that sooner or later well
perhaps have just a few very
secure passwords that we wont
need to use very often and
which will only be used as
backup systems in extreme
cases
What are the advantages of
biometric verification by voice
compared to passwords
Passwords are impossible to
remember when theyre even
remotely secure And theyre
also easy to steal or find out
They have the worst of both
worlds theyre inconvenient
and not very secure Multimodal
biometric verification is both
convenient for the user and
extremely secure It can be
flexibly adapted to the
environment
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Which country is the most
advanced
The use of voice biometrics in
governments is more advanced
in Europe than in the United
States for several historic
reasons However the
implementation in the financial
sector is more advanced in the
United States
What are the next challenges
for Agnitio
The most important challenge
for any company at the
forefront of a technology sector
is to stay ahead ndashlike the Queen
of Hearts in Alice in
Wonderland who had to keep
running to stay in the same
place In other words the
challenge is to continue with
the work of research into new
algorithms in order to improve
both the accuracy speed and
the size of the systems Agnitio
is now in the fourth generation
of voice identification
technology Were now working
on the fifth generation which
will be much more robust
against environmental noise
have spectacular improvements
in accuracy in short speech
and be able to learn to
recognize users very fast over
time These are some of the
requirements for authentication
in the cloud services that wersquoll
be seeing on a massive scale in
the coming years
FINTECH SERIE middot FEBRUARY 2016 middot wwwcentrodeinnovacionbbvacomen
The bank and First Direct offer their 15 million customers
biometric banking software for accessing their accounts
online and by phone using their fingerprint or voice
04HSBCs bid forbiometrics
Fifteen million customers identified through their voice and
fingerprints This is the goal set by HSBC which is extending its
bid for biometrics in the United Kingdom HSBC and First Direct
customers who use telephone banking and mobile apps can
access their accounts through a system that checks their voice
and fingerprint The bank believes that the software will help it
address the issue of forgotten passwords
FINTECH SERIE middot FEBRUARY 2016 middot wwwcentrodeinnovacionbbvacomen
Francesca McDonagh HSBCs
retail banking and wealth
management manager
describes the decision as ldquothe
largest deployment of voice-
based biometric security
technology in the United
Kingdomrdquo ldquoThe launch of voice
and touch ID makes it even
easier for customers to access
their bank accounts using the
safest form of password the
bodyrdquo she concludes in this
article published in The
Guardian
First Direct will start registering
customers for voice
identification in the coming
weeks and HSBC will follow suit
in summer Customers who
decide to use this option must
register their ldquovoiceprintrdquo and
will never again have to use a
phone password or PIN
FINTECH SERIE middot FEBRUARY 2016 middot wwwcentrodeinnovacionbbvacomen
The English newspaper mentions other
examples of banks that are embracing
biometrics
Barclays launched its voice recognition software
for its 300000 wealthiest customers in the United
Kingdom in 2013 One year later it said that this
technology had been so successful that it would
extend it to its 12 million retail banking customers
Barclays intends to offer them voice recognition
by the end of this year since ldquoit has been
incredibly popularrdquo among its wealthiest
customers who used to spend 15 minutes
checking their identity and can now do so in
less than ten seconds
Lloyds Banking Group has said that it is
considering including Amazon Echo in its online
banking services a voice-controlled hands-free
device that is only available in the United States
The bank claims that 360000 blind or visually
impaired people in the United Kingdom could
benefit from voice recognition
FINTECH SERIE middot FEBRUARY 2016 middot wwwcentrodeinnovacionbbvacomen
Royal Bank of Scotland says that
touch ID has been a ldquogreat
successrdquo following its launch last
year with over one million
customers now logging in using
their fingerprint
In the United States several banks
have tested biometric technology
and Citi has around 250000
customers who use voice
recognition authentication
Touch ID is available on all Apple
mobile devices for HSBC and First
Direct Customers have to
download the mobile banking app
and follow the instructions for
associating their fingerprint
And yes it works even if you have
a cold Joe Gordon HSBCs
customer contact manager in the
United Kingdom says that voice
recognition works even if you
have a cold In the BBC Today
program he claimed that ldquowe will
be able to deal with people with a
cold or with slight handicaps
Things like the size of our mouth
or the vocal tract dont change
Neither does the rhythm or
accent when a person has a
slight coldrdquo
Nuance Communication is
supplying the voice biometric
technology that cross checks
more than 100 unique
identifiers including behavioral
features such as speed rhythm
and pronunciation and physical
aspects like the shape of the
larynx the nasal tract and the
nasal passage
FINTECH SERIE middot FEBRERY 2016 middot wwwcentrodeinnovacionbbvacomen
According to a YouGov survey
published by HSBC the British
believe that along with voice
and touch the heart beats the
hair and even the saliva could
be used as passwords in the
future According to the survey
38 of people use the same
password for most of their
accounts while 55 say that
they rarely update their
passwords 78 of the 2038
adults surveyed were sure that
their body was the only thing
that could be used as a
password and 74 felt that it
would become the default
password in the future
FINTECH SERIE middot FEBRUARY 2016 middot wwwcentrodeinnovacionbbvacomen
The boom of biometric devices
is gaining momentum
positioning themselves firmly in
the security monitoring and
control solutions market
05INFOGRAPHY
Biometrictechnology
Share in Pinterest
FINTECH SERIE middot FEBRUARY 2016 middot wwwcentrodeinnovacionbbvacomen
Determines an individualacutes
identity The biometric data
are compared against all
the data held in the
database
Confirms an individualacutes
identity by comparing a
simple with one or more
templates obtained
previously
Identification vs Verification
Perceptions of authentication
61
Belive that biometric authentication is
as safe as passwordsWould like to use digital fingerprint
scanning to Access their accounts
40
FINTECH SERIE middot FEBRUARY 2016 middot wwwcentrodeinnovacionbbvacomen
Biometric solutions
Iris
Facerecognition
Voicerecognition
Fingerprint
Signature
Vascular
IrisCaptures an infrared picture of the personacutes eye which isprocessed to obtain the spectral information of the iris
Face recognitionThe faceacutes features are obtained using a low-resolution camera
Voice recognitionThe voiceacutes features are based on the shape and size of the appendages used to creacuteate the sound
FingerprintA map of the fingerprintacutes peaks and troughs is registeredusing optical termal andor ultrasound technology
SignatureRecording of the act of signing on a piece of paper or tablet The movement not the image is recorded
VascularAn infrared image of the skin is taken to detect the veinsand a map of their distribution is obtained
FINTECH SERIE middot FEBRUARY 2016 middot wwwcentrodeinnovacionbbvacomen
Applications on the market
Uses of biometric authentication
Travel17
Electronics20
Banking $ finance25
Government15
Defens12
Others11
Digital print
Fingerprint
Iris
Face recognition
Others
1
30
9
59
1
FINTECH SERIE middot FEBRUARY 2016 middot wwwcentrodeinnovacionbbvacomen
BBVA Innovation Center
creates the Fintech Serie By
Innovation Edge to keep
informed about the financial
innovation trends with its
milestones analysis cases
studie interviews with experts
and infographics to display the
data that describe each of
these trends
SERIEFINTECH BY innovation edge
share
LASTEST ISSUES
Easy quickly and very efficiently
are the keys of personal
management tools (PFM)
The advance of bitcoin and
payments
The takeoff of emerging companies
in a competitive world
A new concept in the world
of lsquostartupsrsquo
Regiacutestratepara estar al diacutea de las uacuteltimas tendencias
centrodeinnovacionbbvacom
centrodeinnovacionbbvacominnovation-edge
siacuteguenos
BBVA no se hace responsable de las opiniones publicadas en este documento
ldquoBanks have much to gain from biometricsrdquo
01
Juliaacuten Fieacuterrez is a senior lecturer at the Escuela
Politeacutecnica Superior and a member of the ATVS -
Biometric Recognition Group at the Autoacutenoma
University in Madrid A graduate in Communications
Engineering from the Madrid Polytechnic University
he obtained his doctorate in 2006 with the
Extraordinary Prize and was a Marie Curie post-
doctoral fellow at Michigan State University between
2007 and 2009 He has just received the 2015 Miguel
Catalaacuten Award for researchers aged under 40
FINTECH SERIE middot FEBRUARY 2016 middot wwwcentrodeinnovacionbbvacomen
A specialist in biometrics and
currently traveling between
Japan and China to present his
projects Juliaacuten Fieacuterrez has
spent 15 years studying
biometric systems technologies
for speech face fingerprint and
written signatures In 2002 he
began working with the
identification laboratory of the
criminalistics service at the
Head Office of the Guardia Civil
and has also brought biometrics
to the National Cryptological
Center and Telefoacutenica and
more recently to Cecabank A
ldquoclose contact with these
companies and institutionsrdquo has
given him an insight into the
real problems and opportunities
of biometric systems
Is recognizing and identifying
people through biometric
systems the latest fashion
Quite the reverse ndashthe general
perception of biometric systems
is not very positive People
dont see it as being very useful
and being unnecessarily
sophisticated But this type of
systems has been used very
successfully for decades in
limited fields such as forensic
research It was only about 20
years ago at the end of the
1990s when the systems were
first used in large-scale
applications for the general
public such as in access
controls to buildings and
restricted areas
FINTECH SERIE middot FEBRUARY 2016 middot wwwcentrodeinnovacionbbvacomen
Werent they useful
Biometric systems at the time
were poorly perceived for two
reasons First back then the
systems were very limited and
not very technologically
advanced in comparison with
the ones we have today They
were not very ergonomic and
incapable of dealing with
diversity and difficulty in
relatively uncontrolled
operational environments
They were not very useful for
the applications for which they
were designed Rather than
saving time or increasing the
level of security they were an
inconvenience In second
place high hopes ndashexcessively
sondash were invested in these
systems mostly thanks to
popular culture and because of
ambitious and unrealistic
claims Both factors led to
major commercial failures in
this type of system After that
in the last 15 years users who
are unfamiliar with the
technology and technicians
with no expertise in this area
have only naturally been fairly
reluctant to use and deploy this
type of systems
Has the situation changed
Currently the recent and
significant advances in multiple
fields of technology mean that
biometric applications are being
deployed ever more widely
and overcoming the
understandable barriers of
reticence that were so
widespread Several areas have
seen a substantial development
in recent years ergonomics
and sensor quality (such as
those included in smartphones
and other tactile devices)
robust recognition algorithms in
realistic and relatively
uncontrolled operational
conditions and automatic
learning that exploits large
datasets
FINTECH SERIE middot FEBRUARY 2016 middot wwwcentrodeinnovacionbbvacomen
Why are banks companies and governments so interested in
this type of recognition today
Because they have multiple applications and are of crucial
importance These technologies will reduce or eliminate
paperwork in many spheres of e-government in medical records
and legal processes they will streamline many processes
requiring the authentication of individuals they will help prevent
internal and external fraud in companies and institutions they
will make it possible to monitor and certify the skills obtained by
students in distance learning and much more The present and
future of these technologies is very promising
Is this the end of passwords
The aim of biometric systems is not to substitute the current
processes of authentication either cards keys or passwords
The target most researchers working in these technologies are
aiming for at the moment is to improve some aspects of the
current authentication processes by supplementing them in
some cases replacing certain processes in others and
incorporating new processes which were previously impossible
FINTECH SERIE middot FEBRUARY 2016 middot wwwcentrodeinnovacionbbvacomen
Will biometric technology live
alongside passwords
Rather than thinking of doing
away with passwords its more
a case of developing a
complete authentication system
that uses a password and then
improve one or several aspects
of this system (security speed
convenience ease of
management maintenance
costs and so on) by introducing
biometric systems
With this focus in mind I think
well see the coexistence of new
password-free developments
like unlocking cellphones based
on fingerprints or facial images
with a multitude of systems that
continue using passwords or
keys to a certain degree
perhaps supplemented with
some biometric information
The question is not whether
biometrics can eliminate
passwords but whether the use
of biometrics can be of help in
the current world of passwords
The response to this question is
definitely yes and to a great
extent
FINTECH SERIE middot FEBRUARY 2016 middot wwwcentrodeinnovacionbbvacomen
What is the most secure
biometric recognition method
(voice veins irishellip)
All the biometric recognition
methods existing today have
advantages and drawbacks ndash
from voice and handwriting
through to irises and the
pattern of veins on the hand
Specifically if were talking
about security this necessarily
implies an attacker who wants
to gain illicit access Before
comparing biometric features
with others in the area of
security we would need to
specify the model of attacker
through questions such as how
does the attack occur how
hard is it for the attacker to
achieve his or her aim The
suitability of one biometric
feature or another will depend
on the application in question
the scenario of use the model
of attacker who wishes to
violate the system and the
resources at his or her disposal
There are several current
developments that aim to
homogenize these models and
come up with a standard for
considering a biometric system
secure and for its level of
security One such is the
Common Criteria initiative to
which our group is contributing
thanks to the European project
BEAT (Biometrics Evaluation
and Testing)
One feature can be compared
with another based on factors
such as usability economic
cost durability and so on All
these factors once the
application and scenario have
been determined will point to
one biometric feature or
another or a combination of
several used in a specific way
and with specific sensors as
being the optimum solution So
an iris recognition system that
has no protection against
falsification using printed iris
images may be less secure than
a verification system using a
handwritten signature
FINTECH SERIE middot FEBRUARY 2016 middot wwwcentrodeinnovacionbbvacomen
What does it contribute to
banks
The banking environment is
one of the areas that can
benefit most from recent
advances in biometric systems
as many of their operations
depend on the reliable
authentication and
management of their
customers identities Biometrics
can vastly reduce costs such as
the use and recording of
information on paper or the
prevention and control of a
whole range of fraud
Specifically biometric systems
allow the identity of a customer
to be modeled both on one-off
inputs (a handwritten
signature) and in an ongoing
way in the medium and long
term (for example with a
keyboard or mouse and pointer
dynamic)
The detection of anomalous
behavior through these models
is a good way of filtering
possible fraud Todays
technology already allows a full
remote relationship with the
customer by making use of
biometric features such as face
and voice recognition for the
ongoing monitoring of the user
or a handwritten signature on a
touch terminal for
authentication with legal
validity The great difference in
this remote scenario compared
to the scenario with a physical
presence lies in the type of
impostor that seeks to violate
the system the cost of the
attacks impact possible
protection)
FINTECH SERIE middot FEBRUARY 2016 middot wwwcentrodeinnovacionbbvacomen
A greater understanding of
these factors is key to the
success of this type of initiatives
in remote operating
environments Much research
is currently being done in this
area and the problem is not
totally resolved Look at the
results of one of the European
projects in which we have also
been working recently TABULA
RASA (Trusted Biometrics
Under Spoofing Attacks) for
example
iquestWhich country is most
advanced in its uptake of
biometrics
All types of countries from the
United States and Japan to
India and China are investing
heavily in the research and
development of these types of
systems as they are aware of
the present and future benefits
these technologies can provide
Not only the governments of
these countries who have
launched programs to fund
research but also companies
like Google Facebook
Microsoft NEC and Fujitsu are
all making a strong
commitment to this type of
technology
FINTECH SERIE middot FEBRUARY 2016 middot wwwcentrodeinnovacionbbvacomen
What sector do you think it
can help most
As I said before the banking
sector has yet to tap into the
substantial advantages offered
by these technologies in recent
years and it has much to gain
from them They can reduce
the costs related with the
management of identities fraud
prevention customer
convenience and the opening
of new customized services
both in person and remotely
Other sectors that will benefit
vastly from developments in
biometrics include distance
learning (students uptake of the
course material can be
monitored and their learning
outcomes can be certified as a
result) e-government
insurance companies notary
services courts medical
registers and health records
and more) In fact any area in
which it is necessary to
authenticate individuals and
subsequently manage these
identities
Are privacy and biometrics
compatible
Yes Most of the current large-
scale developments in
biometric systems are very
aware of the importance of
protecting privacy particularly
in Europe where the legislation
on data protection is clear and
strict
Many of these biometric
systems do not in fact store (on
the biometric template) the
users registration information in
an open way but via encrypted
versions or with very limited
information which ndashin the most
recent developmentsndash are not
even unencrypted for
comparison with other
biometric templates These
techniques for the protection of
biometric templates are in fact
a red-hot issue in research and
an area in which my group at
the UAM is also working
FINTECH SERIE middot FEBRUARY 2016 middot wwwcentrodeinnovacionbbvacomen
Millennials do not intend to go into a branch in their
lives Theyre used to taking out all services online and
want to have the same facility with banks But as
highlighted in the BBVA Research article ldquoDigital
contracting of financial services electronic identity as a
key elementrdquo there is no regulatory framework allowing
banks to remotely verify the identity of new customers
02Banks face the challenge of verifying the identity of new customers
FINTECH SERIE middot FEBRUARY 2016 middot wwwcentrodeinnovacionbbvacomen
While Google Facebook or
Skype need not verify the actual
identity of the person accessing
their services mdash not even
Amazon mdash registering with a
bank is not so easy ldquoThe
regulatory framework affecting
registering customers in the
financial sector is not
completely homogeneous
globally Some countries
prohibit the registration
processes through digital
channels and require a physical
meeting to proceed with
customer identification and
verification of their identity
Moreover in those places
where non face-to-face
contracting is permitted it is
sometimes difficult to establish
mechanisms for verifying
identity in these digital channels
that reveal unequivocally who
the customer is highlights the
Article
In Mexico for example one of
the objectives of the bank in
2016 is to strengthen controls
and in recent months reading
fingerprints has been extended
to identify customers and open
new accounts As highlighted in
this article in El Universal ldquowith
a customers fingerprint and
photograph identity theft is
impossible when the
fingerprints are already
registeredrdquo
The security problem is
growing as highlighted in this
article by BBVA Research
According to the for Strategic
and International Studies (CSIS)
the cost of cybercrime to the
global economy is about $450
billion In addition the
Ponemon Institute reports that
in 2013 43 of US companies
experienced a breach of data
security Individually the
greatest risks are identity theft
and loss of confidential
information The CSIS estimates
that there were 800 million
stolen personal records in the
same year worldwide In South
Korea for example in a
month over 70 of people
aged between 15 and 65 had
their personal data stolen and
their credit cards were put at
risk In the US according to a
2012 survey conducted by the
Bureau of Justice Statistics
phishing affected 166 million
people at a cost of $247
billion in financial losses
FINTECH SERIE middot FEBRUARY 2016 middot wwwcentrodeinnovacionbbvacomen
And how can identification be
guaranteed As highlighted by
BBVA Research The regulatory
framework affecting registering
customers in the financial
sector is not completely
homogeneous globally Some
countries prohibit the
registration processes through
digital channels and require a
physical meeting to proceed
with customer identification
and verification of their identity
Moreover in those places
where non face-to-face
contracting is permitted it is
sometimes difficult to
establish mechanisms for
verifying identity in these
digital channels that reveal
unequivocally who the
customer is highlights the
Article
Returning to Millennials and the
previous generation a survey
by Telstraglobal on generations
X and Y (those born between
1966-1976 and 1977-1994
respectively) indicates that
more than half of respondents
rate trust as the most
important factor of choice
when selecting a financial
services provider One in five
people would share their DNA
to help protect their financial
and personal information and
up to one in two people would
be willing to pay for a mobile
identity In addition less than
half are satisfied with their
institutions security more than
a third have experienced
phishing 40 of victims
believed it was the institutions
fault and 65 is likely to leave
the bank as a consequence of
this
2016 promises to be the
breakout year for biometrics
And banks cannot be left
behind
FINTECH SERIE middot FEBREUAY 2016 middot wwwcentrodeinnovacionbbvacomen
Emilio Martiacutenez CEO of Agnitio the company specializing
in voice biometric systems highlights the benefits of
voiceprints for personal authentication
03INTERVIEW
ldquoPasswords are inconvenient and insecure and their end is in sight
FINTECH SERIE middot FEBRUARY 2016 middot wwwcentrodeinnovacionbbvacomen
How did Agnitio start
AGNITIO started in 2004 as a
spin-off from the Madrid
Polytechnic University A
group of the signal treatment
department had worked for
years with the Guardia Civil
police force to develop a voice
biometric system that would
enable them to identify
criminals and terrorists from
their voices This system was
known from other European
police forces and sparked
considerable interest The
founding members negotiated
a contract with the university
for the transfer of the
technology and thats how
AGNITIO came about
Whats the profile of the
employees
92 of the employees are
engineers or graduates in
areas of advanced technology
This is an extremely
technological company with a
very high component of
R+D+i
How many countries do you
operate in and what sector
interests you most or is most
interested in your services
Agnitio has facilities in over 40
countries around the world
The geographical areas where
we have the greatest presence
are eastern Europe Latin
America and the United States
In the US we have a subsidiary
that sells to and supports our
customers in North America
With regard to market
segments our presence is
above all in the government
security sector (police and
intelligence corps and defense
organizations) followed by the
financial sector
FINTECH SERIE middot FEBRUARY 2016 middot wwwcentrodeinnovacionbbvacomen
be identified with an extremely
high degree of accuracy
Do they use complex and
expensive tools
The system is purely software
In other words the voice can
be recorded with any
microphone and theres no
need for any special IT
processing system Normal
servers and computers are
used Whats complex is the
software for processing the
signal ndashhighly complex
mathematical algorithms
efficiently programmed to
respond in fractions of a
second with todays processors
The cost depends on the size
of the project measured in
number of voiceprints that are
to be used andor the number
of parallel processes that our
technology is going to use
What are the features of
biometric voice verification
When someone speaks as well
as the information they transmit
in the form of words the
unique features of their vocal
tract ndashthe larynx the nasal
cavity the palate and so onndash
make an imprint on the sound
waves This voiceprint is
independent of the language
the person is speaking the
phrases theyre saying or the
individuals state of mind Card
technology is capable of
extracting this information and
storing it in the form of a
numerical ldquovoice imprintrdquo When
an unknown person is speaking
on the phone for example that
voice can be compared with
the stored voiceprint and
allows the person speaking to
FINTECH SERIE middot FEBRUARY 2016 middot wwwcentrodeinnovacionbbvacomen
These systems are not
accessible to individual
consumers because of their
cost but are acquired and
implemented by government
organizations and financial
institutions
How has the technology
advanced in this field
The study of voice biometrics
began in the 1990s but it
wasnt until the beginning of the
21st century that we saw the
first systems that could be
efficiently used The UPM
delivered the prototype of our
forensic identification system to
the Guardia Civil in 2000 Since
then several pioneering
research groups ndashof which we
are proud to be onendash have
gradually improved and
modified the algorithms to
obtain better results Our
products are already now in the
fourth generation of the
technology
Along with the improvements in
accuracy the calculations can
now be done much faster and
with fewer resources Our
earliest call-monitoring systems
with voice biometrics required
fifty times more processors
than they do today
What advantages does it have
compared to other
identification methods
(fingerprints irishellip)
The various biometric models
are not in competition but
complement each other in a
multi-factor authentication
environment When we come
near a person we use all our
FINTECH SERIE middot FEBRUARY 2016 middot wwwcentrodeinnovacionbbvacomen
ldquosensorsrdquo to identify them their
faces their way of walking
their voice and so on In the
same way in the future people
will be automatically identified
using all the possibilities
available on the devices
Sometimes some will be more
important than others Voice is
very important in situations of
remote authentication when
you cant see or touch the
person ndashin telephone
communications for example
Are they more efficient
The sensors needed to make a
voice authentication are
microphones and today we all
carry these around in our
pocket (in our cellphones) or
we have them on our
computer In terms of cost this
makes it much more efficient
than a fingerprint or iris
recognition which needs a
special sensor requiring special
care And its also the most
natural system Everyones used
to talking to speaking on the
phone Its not something thats
considered intrusive unlike
taking a photo of your eye or
taking your fingerprint
Whats more were increasingly
using our voices to interact with
our surroundings In the future
well communicate with a whole
range of devices in our cars
and homes and at work by
using our voices to give
commands and obtain
information Using our same
voice as a way of authenticating
ourselves will become more
natural than using any other
biometric model Well identify
ourselves with the same
phrases we use when we to talk
with virtual assistants
What can it provide for a
bank
Voice biometric applications in
the world of finance are only
just beginning Perhaps the
application with the best return
on investment today is fraud
detection in call centers The
use of ldquoblacklistsrdquo of voices of
people who have committed
fraud can be used to filter
incoming calls This is having a
massive effect on preventingthe
proliferation of organized gangs
who used the call center to
commit fraud or obtain
information with which to
commit fraud through other
channels
FINTECH SERIE middot FEBRUARY 2016 middot wwwcentrodeinnovacionbbvacomen
Voice authentication also
reduces fraud and makes the
user experience on the
telephone or mobile channel
much faster and more user-
friendly
How
Multichannel systems can be
deployed that combine
authentication in the Banks
different channels telephone
mobile Internet video-chat
social networks and so on It
can also be used to sign
documents using the voice
Customers can use their voice
to accept a contract and this
voice converted into a
voiceprint can be used as the
ldquosignaturerdquo for the document
This way a customer can open
a bank account via only the
Internet andor telephone
channel without having to go to
the branch office
Of course many of these
advances must pass through
regulatory filters and be
accompanied by other security
and control systems
In the case of a physical
presence a handwritten
signature is normally used as
authentication when making a
transaction And in many cases
it includes the comparison of an
identity document with a
photograph These procedures
also have their weak points
when the comparison is done
by people who are not expert in
handwriting or in document
recognition As far as I know
theres no comparison of false
positives between physical
presence systems and
biometric models but Im sure
there would be no surprises
and particularly in the case of
very well planned attacks
Is it very difficult to copy a
voice
Voices can be recorded and
reproduced later in attempt to
imitate the legitimate user This
is why the measures to prevent
these recorded attacks (anti-
spoofing in biometric slang) are
very important in any
implementation that does not
involve an agent speaking to
the person on a direct line
Agnitio has several patented
systems that guard against
these attacks using very
sophisticated technology that
detects the
recordingreproduction cycle
and compares it to the direct
use of the voice
It is impossible today to
generate a voice which so
closely resembles someones
voice that it can deceive the
system Both professional
imitators and voice synthesis
systems can easily be detected
by our software
FINTECH SERIE middot FEBRUARY 2016 middot wwwcentrodeinnovacionbbvacomen
Do you believe that man-in-the-middle attacks
are more dangerous for voice systems and is it
easier to obtain a voice sample than one from
another part of the body
MITM attacks are normally related with encrypted
communication between two systems This occurs
in voice biometrics when the communication takes
place via the IP network and not the telephone
channel In these cases protecting the voiceprint
by correctly encrypting it is an additional problem
to be resolved by systems integrators to avoid the
possibility of these voiceprints (and digital or facial
biometrics) being intercepted and changed This is
why voice biometrics ndashin particular encrypted
voiceprints (not the voice itself)ndash is neither more
nor less likely to suffer attack by MITM
However the voice is often used as authentication
via a different channel (out of band authentication)
Using a brief telephone call on a previously agreed
phone number and making the user say a certain
phrase is the most convenient and secure way of
making an out-of-band authentication
FINTECH SERIE middot FEBRUARY 2016 middot wwwcentrodeinnovacionbbvacomen
Will biometric systems do
away with passwords
Im convinced that the end of
passwords is in sight at least as
a basic authentication tool
Companies banks and online
retailers canrsquot go on torturing
their customers by making
them remember secure
passwords that need to be
frequently changed Today an
average user can have as many
as 60 passwords with 20 being
the average in a European
country Some studies indicate
that ten of them are used on a
daily basis And of course to
keep them safe they have to be
long contain uppercase and
lowercase symbols and be
frequently changed Thats
impossible to maintain
Theres no doubt that
biometrics is one of the ways in
which this problem is going to
be resolved It will be assisted
by other security technologies
to ensure that the entire
process is secure and that the
security is sufficiently
dimensioned for the information
its protecting Im convinced
that sooner or later well
perhaps have just a few very
secure passwords that we wont
need to use very often and
which will only be used as
backup systems in extreme
cases
What are the advantages of
biometric verification by voice
compared to passwords
Passwords are impossible to
remember when theyre even
remotely secure And theyre
also easy to steal or find out
They have the worst of both
worlds theyre inconvenient
and not very secure Multimodal
biometric verification is both
convenient for the user and
extremely secure It can be
flexibly adapted to the
environment
FINTECH SERIE middot FEBRUARY 2016 middot wwwcentrodeinnovacionbbvacomen
Which country is the most
advanced
The use of voice biometrics in
governments is more advanced
in Europe than in the United
States for several historic
reasons However the
implementation in the financial
sector is more advanced in the
United States
What are the next challenges
for Agnitio
The most important challenge
for any company at the
forefront of a technology sector
is to stay ahead ndashlike the Queen
of Hearts in Alice in
Wonderland who had to keep
running to stay in the same
place In other words the
challenge is to continue with
the work of research into new
algorithms in order to improve
both the accuracy speed and
the size of the systems Agnitio
is now in the fourth generation
of voice identification
technology Were now working
on the fifth generation which
will be much more robust
against environmental noise
have spectacular improvements
in accuracy in short speech
and be able to learn to
recognize users very fast over
time These are some of the
requirements for authentication
in the cloud services that wersquoll
be seeing on a massive scale in
the coming years
FINTECH SERIE middot FEBRUARY 2016 middot wwwcentrodeinnovacionbbvacomen
The bank and First Direct offer their 15 million customers
biometric banking software for accessing their accounts
online and by phone using their fingerprint or voice
04HSBCs bid forbiometrics
Fifteen million customers identified through their voice and
fingerprints This is the goal set by HSBC which is extending its
bid for biometrics in the United Kingdom HSBC and First Direct
customers who use telephone banking and mobile apps can
access their accounts through a system that checks their voice
and fingerprint The bank believes that the software will help it
address the issue of forgotten passwords
FINTECH SERIE middot FEBRUARY 2016 middot wwwcentrodeinnovacionbbvacomen
Francesca McDonagh HSBCs
retail banking and wealth
management manager
describes the decision as ldquothe
largest deployment of voice-
based biometric security
technology in the United
Kingdomrdquo ldquoThe launch of voice
and touch ID makes it even
easier for customers to access
their bank accounts using the
safest form of password the
bodyrdquo she concludes in this
article published in The
Guardian
First Direct will start registering
customers for voice
identification in the coming
weeks and HSBC will follow suit
in summer Customers who
decide to use this option must
register their ldquovoiceprintrdquo and
will never again have to use a
phone password or PIN
FINTECH SERIE middot FEBRUARY 2016 middot wwwcentrodeinnovacionbbvacomen
The English newspaper mentions other
examples of banks that are embracing
biometrics
Barclays launched its voice recognition software
for its 300000 wealthiest customers in the United
Kingdom in 2013 One year later it said that this
technology had been so successful that it would
extend it to its 12 million retail banking customers
Barclays intends to offer them voice recognition
by the end of this year since ldquoit has been
incredibly popularrdquo among its wealthiest
customers who used to spend 15 minutes
checking their identity and can now do so in
less than ten seconds
Lloyds Banking Group has said that it is
considering including Amazon Echo in its online
banking services a voice-controlled hands-free
device that is only available in the United States
The bank claims that 360000 blind or visually
impaired people in the United Kingdom could
benefit from voice recognition
FINTECH SERIE middot FEBRUARY 2016 middot wwwcentrodeinnovacionbbvacomen
Royal Bank of Scotland says that
touch ID has been a ldquogreat
successrdquo following its launch last
year with over one million
customers now logging in using
their fingerprint
In the United States several banks
have tested biometric technology
and Citi has around 250000
customers who use voice
recognition authentication
Touch ID is available on all Apple
mobile devices for HSBC and First
Direct Customers have to
download the mobile banking app
and follow the instructions for
associating their fingerprint
And yes it works even if you have
a cold Joe Gordon HSBCs
customer contact manager in the
United Kingdom says that voice
recognition works even if you
have a cold In the BBC Today
program he claimed that ldquowe will
be able to deal with people with a
cold or with slight handicaps
Things like the size of our mouth
or the vocal tract dont change
Neither does the rhythm or
accent when a person has a
slight coldrdquo
Nuance Communication is
supplying the voice biometric
technology that cross checks
more than 100 unique
identifiers including behavioral
features such as speed rhythm
and pronunciation and physical
aspects like the shape of the
larynx the nasal tract and the
nasal passage
FINTECH SERIE middot FEBRERY 2016 middot wwwcentrodeinnovacionbbvacomen
According to a YouGov survey
published by HSBC the British
believe that along with voice
and touch the heart beats the
hair and even the saliva could
be used as passwords in the
future According to the survey
38 of people use the same
password for most of their
accounts while 55 say that
they rarely update their
passwords 78 of the 2038
adults surveyed were sure that
their body was the only thing
that could be used as a
password and 74 felt that it
would become the default
password in the future
FINTECH SERIE middot FEBRUARY 2016 middot wwwcentrodeinnovacionbbvacomen
The boom of biometric devices
is gaining momentum
positioning themselves firmly in
the security monitoring and
control solutions market
05INFOGRAPHY
Biometrictechnology
Share in Pinterest
FINTECH SERIE middot FEBRUARY 2016 middot wwwcentrodeinnovacionbbvacomen
Determines an individualacutes
identity The biometric data
are compared against all
the data held in the
database
Confirms an individualacutes
identity by comparing a
simple with one or more
templates obtained
previously
Identification vs Verification
Perceptions of authentication
61
Belive that biometric authentication is
as safe as passwordsWould like to use digital fingerprint
scanning to Access their accounts
40
FINTECH SERIE middot FEBRUARY 2016 middot wwwcentrodeinnovacionbbvacomen
Biometric solutions
Iris
Facerecognition
Voicerecognition
Fingerprint
Signature
Vascular
IrisCaptures an infrared picture of the personacutes eye which isprocessed to obtain the spectral information of the iris
Face recognitionThe faceacutes features are obtained using a low-resolution camera
Voice recognitionThe voiceacutes features are based on the shape and size of the appendages used to creacuteate the sound
FingerprintA map of the fingerprintacutes peaks and troughs is registeredusing optical termal andor ultrasound technology
SignatureRecording of the act of signing on a piece of paper or tablet The movement not the image is recorded
VascularAn infrared image of the skin is taken to detect the veinsand a map of their distribution is obtained
FINTECH SERIE middot FEBRUARY 2016 middot wwwcentrodeinnovacionbbvacomen
Applications on the market
Uses of biometric authentication
Travel17
Electronics20
Banking $ finance25
Government15
Defens12
Others11
Digital print
Fingerprint
Iris
Face recognition
Others
1
30
9
59
1
FINTECH SERIE middot FEBRUARY 2016 middot wwwcentrodeinnovacionbbvacomen
BBVA Innovation Center
creates the Fintech Serie By
Innovation Edge to keep
informed about the financial
innovation trends with its
milestones analysis cases
studie interviews with experts
and infographics to display the
data that describe each of
these trends
SERIEFINTECH BY innovation edge
share
LASTEST ISSUES
Easy quickly and very efficiently
are the keys of personal
management tools (PFM)
The advance of bitcoin and
payments
The takeoff of emerging companies
in a competitive world
A new concept in the world
of lsquostartupsrsquo
Regiacutestratepara estar al diacutea de las uacuteltimas tendencias
centrodeinnovacionbbvacom
centrodeinnovacionbbvacominnovation-edge
siacuteguenos
BBVA no se hace responsable de las opiniones publicadas en este documento
A specialist in biometrics and
currently traveling between
Japan and China to present his
projects Juliaacuten Fieacuterrez has
spent 15 years studying
biometric systems technologies
for speech face fingerprint and
written signatures In 2002 he
began working with the
identification laboratory of the
criminalistics service at the
Head Office of the Guardia Civil
and has also brought biometrics
to the National Cryptological
Center and Telefoacutenica and
more recently to Cecabank A
ldquoclose contact with these
companies and institutionsrdquo has
given him an insight into the
real problems and opportunities
of biometric systems
Is recognizing and identifying
people through biometric
systems the latest fashion
Quite the reverse ndashthe general
perception of biometric systems
is not very positive People
dont see it as being very useful
and being unnecessarily
sophisticated But this type of
systems has been used very
successfully for decades in
limited fields such as forensic
research It was only about 20
years ago at the end of the
1990s when the systems were
first used in large-scale
applications for the general
public such as in access
controls to buildings and
restricted areas
FINTECH SERIE middot FEBRUARY 2016 middot wwwcentrodeinnovacionbbvacomen
Werent they useful
Biometric systems at the time
were poorly perceived for two
reasons First back then the
systems were very limited and
not very technologically
advanced in comparison with
the ones we have today They
were not very ergonomic and
incapable of dealing with
diversity and difficulty in
relatively uncontrolled
operational environments
They were not very useful for
the applications for which they
were designed Rather than
saving time or increasing the
level of security they were an
inconvenience In second
place high hopes ndashexcessively
sondash were invested in these
systems mostly thanks to
popular culture and because of
ambitious and unrealistic
claims Both factors led to
major commercial failures in
this type of system After that
in the last 15 years users who
are unfamiliar with the
technology and technicians
with no expertise in this area
have only naturally been fairly
reluctant to use and deploy this
type of systems
Has the situation changed
Currently the recent and
significant advances in multiple
fields of technology mean that
biometric applications are being
deployed ever more widely
and overcoming the
understandable barriers of
reticence that were so
widespread Several areas have
seen a substantial development
in recent years ergonomics
and sensor quality (such as
those included in smartphones
and other tactile devices)
robust recognition algorithms in
realistic and relatively
uncontrolled operational
conditions and automatic
learning that exploits large
datasets
FINTECH SERIE middot FEBRUARY 2016 middot wwwcentrodeinnovacionbbvacomen
Why are banks companies and governments so interested in
this type of recognition today
Because they have multiple applications and are of crucial
importance These technologies will reduce or eliminate
paperwork in many spheres of e-government in medical records
and legal processes they will streamline many processes
requiring the authentication of individuals they will help prevent
internal and external fraud in companies and institutions they
will make it possible to monitor and certify the skills obtained by
students in distance learning and much more The present and
future of these technologies is very promising
Is this the end of passwords
The aim of biometric systems is not to substitute the current
processes of authentication either cards keys or passwords
The target most researchers working in these technologies are
aiming for at the moment is to improve some aspects of the
current authentication processes by supplementing them in
some cases replacing certain processes in others and
incorporating new processes which were previously impossible
FINTECH SERIE middot FEBRUARY 2016 middot wwwcentrodeinnovacionbbvacomen
Will biometric technology live
alongside passwords
Rather than thinking of doing
away with passwords its more
a case of developing a
complete authentication system
that uses a password and then
improve one or several aspects
of this system (security speed
convenience ease of
management maintenance
costs and so on) by introducing
biometric systems
With this focus in mind I think
well see the coexistence of new
password-free developments
like unlocking cellphones based
on fingerprints or facial images
with a multitude of systems that
continue using passwords or
keys to a certain degree
perhaps supplemented with
some biometric information
The question is not whether
biometrics can eliminate
passwords but whether the use
of biometrics can be of help in
the current world of passwords
The response to this question is
definitely yes and to a great
extent
FINTECH SERIE middot FEBRUARY 2016 middot wwwcentrodeinnovacionbbvacomen
What is the most secure
biometric recognition method
(voice veins irishellip)
All the biometric recognition
methods existing today have
advantages and drawbacks ndash
from voice and handwriting
through to irises and the
pattern of veins on the hand
Specifically if were talking
about security this necessarily
implies an attacker who wants
to gain illicit access Before
comparing biometric features
with others in the area of
security we would need to
specify the model of attacker
through questions such as how
does the attack occur how
hard is it for the attacker to
achieve his or her aim The
suitability of one biometric
feature or another will depend
on the application in question
the scenario of use the model
of attacker who wishes to
violate the system and the
resources at his or her disposal
There are several current
developments that aim to
homogenize these models and
come up with a standard for
considering a biometric system
secure and for its level of
security One such is the
Common Criteria initiative to
which our group is contributing
thanks to the European project
BEAT (Biometrics Evaluation
and Testing)
One feature can be compared
with another based on factors
such as usability economic
cost durability and so on All
these factors once the
application and scenario have
been determined will point to
one biometric feature or
another or a combination of
several used in a specific way
and with specific sensors as
being the optimum solution So
an iris recognition system that
has no protection against
falsification using printed iris
images may be less secure than
a verification system using a
handwritten signature
FINTECH SERIE middot FEBRUARY 2016 middot wwwcentrodeinnovacionbbvacomen
What does it contribute to
banks
The banking environment is
one of the areas that can
benefit most from recent
advances in biometric systems
as many of their operations
depend on the reliable
authentication and
management of their
customers identities Biometrics
can vastly reduce costs such as
the use and recording of
information on paper or the
prevention and control of a
whole range of fraud
Specifically biometric systems
allow the identity of a customer
to be modeled both on one-off
inputs (a handwritten
signature) and in an ongoing
way in the medium and long
term (for example with a
keyboard or mouse and pointer
dynamic)
The detection of anomalous
behavior through these models
is a good way of filtering
possible fraud Todays
technology already allows a full
remote relationship with the
customer by making use of
biometric features such as face
and voice recognition for the
ongoing monitoring of the user
or a handwritten signature on a
touch terminal for
authentication with legal
validity The great difference in
this remote scenario compared
to the scenario with a physical
presence lies in the type of
impostor that seeks to violate
the system the cost of the
attacks impact possible
protection)
FINTECH SERIE middot FEBRUARY 2016 middot wwwcentrodeinnovacionbbvacomen
A greater understanding of
these factors is key to the
success of this type of initiatives
in remote operating
environments Much research
is currently being done in this
area and the problem is not
totally resolved Look at the
results of one of the European
projects in which we have also
been working recently TABULA
RASA (Trusted Biometrics
Under Spoofing Attacks) for
example
iquestWhich country is most
advanced in its uptake of
biometrics
All types of countries from the
United States and Japan to
India and China are investing
heavily in the research and
development of these types of
systems as they are aware of
the present and future benefits
these technologies can provide
Not only the governments of
these countries who have
launched programs to fund
research but also companies
like Google Facebook
Microsoft NEC and Fujitsu are
all making a strong
commitment to this type of
technology
FINTECH SERIE middot FEBRUARY 2016 middot wwwcentrodeinnovacionbbvacomen
What sector do you think it
can help most
As I said before the banking
sector has yet to tap into the
substantial advantages offered
by these technologies in recent
years and it has much to gain
from them They can reduce
the costs related with the
management of identities fraud
prevention customer
convenience and the opening
of new customized services
both in person and remotely
Other sectors that will benefit
vastly from developments in
biometrics include distance
learning (students uptake of the
course material can be
monitored and their learning
outcomes can be certified as a
result) e-government
insurance companies notary
services courts medical
registers and health records
and more) In fact any area in
which it is necessary to
authenticate individuals and
subsequently manage these
identities
Are privacy and biometrics
compatible
Yes Most of the current large-
scale developments in
biometric systems are very
aware of the importance of
protecting privacy particularly
in Europe where the legislation
on data protection is clear and
strict
Many of these biometric
systems do not in fact store (on
the biometric template) the
users registration information in
an open way but via encrypted
versions or with very limited
information which ndashin the most
recent developmentsndash are not
even unencrypted for
comparison with other
biometric templates These
techniques for the protection of
biometric templates are in fact
a red-hot issue in research and
an area in which my group at
the UAM is also working
FINTECH SERIE middot FEBRUARY 2016 middot wwwcentrodeinnovacionbbvacomen
Millennials do not intend to go into a branch in their
lives Theyre used to taking out all services online and
want to have the same facility with banks But as
highlighted in the BBVA Research article ldquoDigital
contracting of financial services electronic identity as a
key elementrdquo there is no regulatory framework allowing
banks to remotely verify the identity of new customers
02Banks face the challenge of verifying the identity of new customers
FINTECH SERIE middot FEBRUARY 2016 middot wwwcentrodeinnovacionbbvacomen
While Google Facebook or
Skype need not verify the actual
identity of the person accessing
their services mdash not even
Amazon mdash registering with a
bank is not so easy ldquoThe
regulatory framework affecting
registering customers in the
financial sector is not
completely homogeneous
globally Some countries
prohibit the registration
processes through digital
channels and require a physical
meeting to proceed with
customer identification and
verification of their identity
Moreover in those places
where non face-to-face
contracting is permitted it is
sometimes difficult to establish
mechanisms for verifying
identity in these digital channels
that reveal unequivocally who
the customer is highlights the
Article
In Mexico for example one of
the objectives of the bank in
2016 is to strengthen controls
and in recent months reading
fingerprints has been extended
to identify customers and open
new accounts As highlighted in
this article in El Universal ldquowith
a customers fingerprint and
photograph identity theft is
impossible when the
fingerprints are already
registeredrdquo
The security problem is
growing as highlighted in this
article by BBVA Research
According to the for Strategic
and International Studies (CSIS)
the cost of cybercrime to the
global economy is about $450
billion In addition the
Ponemon Institute reports that
in 2013 43 of US companies
experienced a breach of data
security Individually the
greatest risks are identity theft
and loss of confidential
information The CSIS estimates
that there were 800 million
stolen personal records in the
same year worldwide In South
Korea for example in a
month over 70 of people
aged between 15 and 65 had
their personal data stolen and
their credit cards were put at
risk In the US according to a
2012 survey conducted by the
Bureau of Justice Statistics
phishing affected 166 million
people at a cost of $247
billion in financial losses
FINTECH SERIE middot FEBRUARY 2016 middot wwwcentrodeinnovacionbbvacomen
And how can identification be
guaranteed As highlighted by
BBVA Research The regulatory
framework affecting registering
customers in the financial
sector is not completely
homogeneous globally Some
countries prohibit the
registration processes through
digital channels and require a
physical meeting to proceed
with customer identification
and verification of their identity
Moreover in those places
where non face-to-face
contracting is permitted it is
sometimes difficult to
establish mechanisms for
verifying identity in these
digital channels that reveal
unequivocally who the
customer is highlights the
Article
Returning to Millennials and the
previous generation a survey
by Telstraglobal on generations
X and Y (those born between
1966-1976 and 1977-1994
respectively) indicates that
more than half of respondents
rate trust as the most
important factor of choice
when selecting a financial
services provider One in five
people would share their DNA
to help protect their financial
and personal information and
up to one in two people would
be willing to pay for a mobile
identity In addition less than
half are satisfied with their
institutions security more than
a third have experienced
phishing 40 of victims
believed it was the institutions
fault and 65 is likely to leave
the bank as a consequence of
this
2016 promises to be the
breakout year for biometrics
And banks cannot be left
behind
FINTECH SERIE middot FEBREUAY 2016 middot wwwcentrodeinnovacionbbvacomen
Emilio Martiacutenez CEO of Agnitio the company specializing
in voice biometric systems highlights the benefits of
voiceprints for personal authentication
03INTERVIEW
ldquoPasswords are inconvenient and insecure and their end is in sight
FINTECH SERIE middot FEBRUARY 2016 middot wwwcentrodeinnovacionbbvacomen
How did Agnitio start
AGNITIO started in 2004 as a
spin-off from the Madrid
Polytechnic University A
group of the signal treatment
department had worked for
years with the Guardia Civil
police force to develop a voice
biometric system that would
enable them to identify
criminals and terrorists from
their voices This system was
known from other European
police forces and sparked
considerable interest The
founding members negotiated
a contract with the university
for the transfer of the
technology and thats how
AGNITIO came about
Whats the profile of the
employees
92 of the employees are
engineers or graduates in
areas of advanced technology
This is an extremely
technological company with a
very high component of
R+D+i
How many countries do you
operate in and what sector
interests you most or is most
interested in your services
Agnitio has facilities in over 40
countries around the world
The geographical areas where
we have the greatest presence
are eastern Europe Latin
America and the United States
In the US we have a subsidiary
that sells to and supports our
customers in North America
With regard to market
segments our presence is
above all in the government
security sector (police and
intelligence corps and defense
organizations) followed by the
financial sector
FINTECH SERIE middot FEBRUARY 2016 middot wwwcentrodeinnovacionbbvacomen
be identified with an extremely
high degree of accuracy
Do they use complex and
expensive tools
The system is purely software
In other words the voice can
be recorded with any
microphone and theres no
need for any special IT
processing system Normal
servers and computers are
used Whats complex is the
software for processing the
signal ndashhighly complex
mathematical algorithms
efficiently programmed to
respond in fractions of a
second with todays processors
The cost depends on the size
of the project measured in
number of voiceprints that are
to be used andor the number
of parallel processes that our
technology is going to use
What are the features of
biometric voice verification
When someone speaks as well
as the information they transmit
in the form of words the
unique features of their vocal
tract ndashthe larynx the nasal
cavity the palate and so onndash
make an imprint on the sound
waves This voiceprint is
independent of the language
the person is speaking the
phrases theyre saying or the
individuals state of mind Card
technology is capable of
extracting this information and
storing it in the form of a
numerical ldquovoice imprintrdquo When
an unknown person is speaking
on the phone for example that
voice can be compared with
the stored voiceprint and
allows the person speaking to
FINTECH SERIE middot FEBRUARY 2016 middot wwwcentrodeinnovacionbbvacomen
These systems are not
accessible to individual
consumers because of their
cost but are acquired and
implemented by government
organizations and financial
institutions
How has the technology
advanced in this field
The study of voice biometrics
began in the 1990s but it
wasnt until the beginning of the
21st century that we saw the
first systems that could be
efficiently used The UPM
delivered the prototype of our
forensic identification system to
the Guardia Civil in 2000 Since
then several pioneering
research groups ndashof which we
are proud to be onendash have
gradually improved and
modified the algorithms to
obtain better results Our
products are already now in the
fourth generation of the
technology
Along with the improvements in
accuracy the calculations can
now be done much faster and
with fewer resources Our
earliest call-monitoring systems
with voice biometrics required
fifty times more processors
than they do today
What advantages does it have
compared to other
identification methods
(fingerprints irishellip)
The various biometric models
are not in competition but
complement each other in a
multi-factor authentication
environment When we come
near a person we use all our
FINTECH SERIE middot FEBRUARY 2016 middot wwwcentrodeinnovacionbbvacomen
ldquosensorsrdquo to identify them their
faces their way of walking
their voice and so on In the
same way in the future people
will be automatically identified
using all the possibilities
available on the devices
Sometimes some will be more
important than others Voice is
very important in situations of
remote authentication when
you cant see or touch the
person ndashin telephone
communications for example
Are they more efficient
The sensors needed to make a
voice authentication are
microphones and today we all
carry these around in our
pocket (in our cellphones) or
we have them on our
computer In terms of cost this
makes it much more efficient
than a fingerprint or iris
recognition which needs a
special sensor requiring special
care And its also the most
natural system Everyones used
to talking to speaking on the
phone Its not something thats
considered intrusive unlike
taking a photo of your eye or
taking your fingerprint
Whats more were increasingly
using our voices to interact with
our surroundings In the future
well communicate with a whole
range of devices in our cars
and homes and at work by
using our voices to give
commands and obtain
information Using our same
voice as a way of authenticating
ourselves will become more
natural than using any other
biometric model Well identify
ourselves with the same
phrases we use when we to talk
with virtual assistants
What can it provide for a
bank
Voice biometric applications in
the world of finance are only
just beginning Perhaps the
application with the best return
on investment today is fraud
detection in call centers The
use of ldquoblacklistsrdquo of voices of
people who have committed
fraud can be used to filter
incoming calls This is having a
massive effect on preventingthe
proliferation of organized gangs
who used the call center to
commit fraud or obtain
information with which to
commit fraud through other
channels
FINTECH SERIE middot FEBRUARY 2016 middot wwwcentrodeinnovacionbbvacomen
Voice authentication also
reduces fraud and makes the
user experience on the
telephone or mobile channel
much faster and more user-
friendly
How
Multichannel systems can be
deployed that combine
authentication in the Banks
different channels telephone
mobile Internet video-chat
social networks and so on It
can also be used to sign
documents using the voice
Customers can use their voice
to accept a contract and this
voice converted into a
voiceprint can be used as the
ldquosignaturerdquo for the document
This way a customer can open
a bank account via only the
Internet andor telephone
channel without having to go to
the branch office
Of course many of these
advances must pass through
regulatory filters and be
accompanied by other security
and control systems
In the case of a physical
presence a handwritten
signature is normally used as
authentication when making a
transaction And in many cases
it includes the comparison of an
identity document with a
photograph These procedures
also have their weak points
when the comparison is done
by people who are not expert in
handwriting or in document
recognition As far as I know
theres no comparison of false
positives between physical
presence systems and
biometric models but Im sure
there would be no surprises
and particularly in the case of
very well planned attacks
Is it very difficult to copy a
voice
Voices can be recorded and
reproduced later in attempt to
imitate the legitimate user This
is why the measures to prevent
these recorded attacks (anti-
spoofing in biometric slang) are
very important in any
implementation that does not
involve an agent speaking to
the person on a direct line
Agnitio has several patented
systems that guard against
these attacks using very
sophisticated technology that
detects the
recordingreproduction cycle
and compares it to the direct
use of the voice
It is impossible today to
generate a voice which so
closely resembles someones
voice that it can deceive the
system Both professional
imitators and voice synthesis
systems can easily be detected
by our software
FINTECH SERIE middot FEBRUARY 2016 middot wwwcentrodeinnovacionbbvacomen
Do you believe that man-in-the-middle attacks
are more dangerous for voice systems and is it
easier to obtain a voice sample than one from
another part of the body
MITM attacks are normally related with encrypted
communication between two systems This occurs
in voice biometrics when the communication takes
place via the IP network and not the telephone
channel In these cases protecting the voiceprint
by correctly encrypting it is an additional problem
to be resolved by systems integrators to avoid the
possibility of these voiceprints (and digital or facial
biometrics) being intercepted and changed This is
why voice biometrics ndashin particular encrypted
voiceprints (not the voice itself)ndash is neither more
nor less likely to suffer attack by MITM
However the voice is often used as authentication
via a different channel (out of band authentication)
Using a brief telephone call on a previously agreed
phone number and making the user say a certain
phrase is the most convenient and secure way of
making an out-of-band authentication
FINTECH SERIE middot FEBRUARY 2016 middot wwwcentrodeinnovacionbbvacomen
Will biometric systems do
away with passwords
Im convinced that the end of
passwords is in sight at least as
a basic authentication tool
Companies banks and online
retailers canrsquot go on torturing
their customers by making
them remember secure
passwords that need to be
frequently changed Today an
average user can have as many
as 60 passwords with 20 being
the average in a European
country Some studies indicate
that ten of them are used on a
daily basis And of course to
keep them safe they have to be
long contain uppercase and
lowercase symbols and be
frequently changed Thats
impossible to maintain
Theres no doubt that
biometrics is one of the ways in
which this problem is going to
be resolved It will be assisted
by other security technologies
to ensure that the entire
process is secure and that the
security is sufficiently
dimensioned for the information
its protecting Im convinced
that sooner or later well
perhaps have just a few very
secure passwords that we wont
need to use very often and
which will only be used as
backup systems in extreme
cases
What are the advantages of
biometric verification by voice
compared to passwords
Passwords are impossible to
remember when theyre even
remotely secure And theyre
also easy to steal or find out
They have the worst of both
worlds theyre inconvenient
and not very secure Multimodal
biometric verification is both
convenient for the user and
extremely secure It can be
flexibly adapted to the
environment
FINTECH SERIE middot FEBRUARY 2016 middot wwwcentrodeinnovacionbbvacomen
Which country is the most
advanced
The use of voice biometrics in
governments is more advanced
in Europe than in the United
States for several historic
reasons However the
implementation in the financial
sector is more advanced in the
United States
What are the next challenges
for Agnitio
The most important challenge
for any company at the
forefront of a technology sector
is to stay ahead ndashlike the Queen
of Hearts in Alice in
Wonderland who had to keep
running to stay in the same
place In other words the
challenge is to continue with
the work of research into new
algorithms in order to improve
both the accuracy speed and
the size of the systems Agnitio
is now in the fourth generation
of voice identification
technology Were now working
on the fifth generation which
will be much more robust
against environmental noise
have spectacular improvements
in accuracy in short speech
and be able to learn to
recognize users very fast over
time These are some of the
requirements for authentication
in the cloud services that wersquoll
be seeing on a massive scale in
the coming years
FINTECH SERIE middot FEBRUARY 2016 middot wwwcentrodeinnovacionbbvacomen
The bank and First Direct offer their 15 million customers
biometric banking software for accessing their accounts
online and by phone using their fingerprint or voice
04HSBCs bid forbiometrics
Fifteen million customers identified through their voice and
fingerprints This is the goal set by HSBC which is extending its
bid for biometrics in the United Kingdom HSBC and First Direct
customers who use telephone banking and mobile apps can
access their accounts through a system that checks their voice
and fingerprint The bank believes that the software will help it
address the issue of forgotten passwords
FINTECH SERIE middot FEBRUARY 2016 middot wwwcentrodeinnovacionbbvacomen
Francesca McDonagh HSBCs
retail banking and wealth
management manager
describes the decision as ldquothe
largest deployment of voice-
based biometric security
technology in the United
Kingdomrdquo ldquoThe launch of voice
and touch ID makes it even
easier for customers to access
their bank accounts using the
safest form of password the
bodyrdquo she concludes in this
article published in The
Guardian
First Direct will start registering
customers for voice
identification in the coming
weeks and HSBC will follow suit
in summer Customers who
decide to use this option must
register their ldquovoiceprintrdquo and
will never again have to use a
phone password or PIN
FINTECH SERIE middot FEBRUARY 2016 middot wwwcentrodeinnovacionbbvacomen
The English newspaper mentions other
examples of banks that are embracing
biometrics
Barclays launched its voice recognition software
for its 300000 wealthiest customers in the United
Kingdom in 2013 One year later it said that this
technology had been so successful that it would
extend it to its 12 million retail banking customers
Barclays intends to offer them voice recognition
by the end of this year since ldquoit has been
incredibly popularrdquo among its wealthiest
customers who used to spend 15 minutes
checking their identity and can now do so in
less than ten seconds
Lloyds Banking Group has said that it is
considering including Amazon Echo in its online
banking services a voice-controlled hands-free
device that is only available in the United States
The bank claims that 360000 blind or visually
impaired people in the United Kingdom could
benefit from voice recognition
FINTECH SERIE middot FEBRUARY 2016 middot wwwcentrodeinnovacionbbvacomen
Royal Bank of Scotland says that
touch ID has been a ldquogreat
successrdquo following its launch last
year with over one million
customers now logging in using
their fingerprint
In the United States several banks
have tested biometric technology
and Citi has around 250000
customers who use voice
recognition authentication
Touch ID is available on all Apple
mobile devices for HSBC and First
Direct Customers have to
download the mobile banking app
and follow the instructions for
associating their fingerprint
And yes it works even if you have
a cold Joe Gordon HSBCs
customer contact manager in the
United Kingdom says that voice
recognition works even if you
have a cold In the BBC Today
program he claimed that ldquowe will
be able to deal with people with a
cold or with slight handicaps
Things like the size of our mouth
or the vocal tract dont change
Neither does the rhythm or
accent when a person has a
slight coldrdquo
Nuance Communication is
supplying the voice biometric
technology that cross checks
more than 100 unique
identifiers including behavioral
features such as speed rhythm
and pronunciation and physical
aspects like the shape of the
larynx the nasal tract and the
nasal passage
FINTECH SERIE middot FEBRERY 2016 middot wwwcentrodeinnovacionbbvacomen
According to a YouGov survey
published by HSBC the British
believe that along with voice
and touch the heart beats the
hair and even the saliva could
be used as passwords in the
future According to the survey
38 of people use the same
password for most of their
accounts while 55 say that
they rarely update their
passwords 78 of the 2038
adults surveyed were sure that
their body was the only thing
that could be used as a
password and 74 felt that it
would become the default
password in the future
FINTECH SERIE middot FEBRUARY 2016 middot wwwcentrodeinnovacionbbvacomen
The boom of biometric devices
is gaining momentum
positioning themselves firmly in
the security monitoring and
control solutions market
05INFOGRAPHY
Biometrictechnology
Share in Pinterest
FINTECH SERIE middot FEBRUARY 2016 middot wwwcentrodeinnovacionbbvacomen
Determines an individualacutes
identity The biometric data
are compared against all
the data held in the
database
Confirms an individualacutes
identity by comparing a
simple with one or more
templates obtained
previously
Identification vs Verification
Perceptions of authentication
61
Belive that biometric authentication is
as safe as passwordsWould like to use digital fingerprint
scanning to Access their accounts
40
FINTECH SERIE middot FEBRUARY 2016 middot wwwcentrodeinnovacionbbvacomen
Biometric solutions
Iris
Facerecognition
Voicerecognition
Fingerprint
Signature
Vascular
IrisCaptures an infrared picture of the personacutes eye which isprocessed to obtain the spectral information of the iris
Face recognitionThe faceacutes features are obtained using a low-resolution camera
Voice recognitionThe voiceacutes features are based on the shape and size of the appendages used to creacuteate the sound
FingerprintA map of the fingerprintacutes peaks and troughs is registeredusing optical termal andor ultrasound technology
SignatureRecording of the act of signing on a piece of paper or tablet The movement not the image is recorded
VascularAn infrared image of the skin is taken to detect the veinsand a map of their distribution is obtained
FINTECH SERIE middot FEBRUARY 2016 middot wwwcentrodeinnovacionbbvacomen
Applications on the market
Uses of biometric authentication
Travel17
Electronics20
Banking $ finance25
Government15
Defens12
Others11
Digital print
Fingerprint
Iris
Face recognition
Others
1
30
9
59
1
FINTECH SERIE middot FEBRUARY 2016 middot wwwcentrodeinnovacionbbvacomen
BBVA Innovation Center
creates the Fintech Serie By
Innovation Edge to keep
informed about the financial
innovation trends with its
milestones analysis cases
studie interviews with experts
and infographics to display the
data that describe each of
these trends
SERIEFINTECH BY innovation edge
share
LASTEST ISSUES
Easy quickly and very efficiently
are the keys of personal
management tools (PFM)
The advance of bitcoin and
payments
The takeoff of emerging companies
in a competitive world
A new concept in the world
of lsquostartupsrsquo
Regiacutestratepara estar al diacutea de las uacuteltimas tendencias
centrodeinnovacionbbvacom
centrodeinnovacionbbvacominnovation-edge
siacuteguenos
BBVA no se hace responsable de las opiniones publicadas en este documento
Werent they useful
Biometric systems at the time
were poorly perceived for two
reasons First back then the
systems were very limited and
not very technologically
advanced in comparison with
the ones we have today They
were not very ergonomic and
incapable of dealing with
diversity and difficulty in
relatively uncontrolled
operational environments
They were not very useful for
the applications for which they
were designed Rather than
saving time or increasing the
level of security they were an
inconvenience In second
place high hopes ndashexcessively
sondash were invested in these
systems mostly thanks to
popular culture and because of
ambitious and unrealistic
claims Both factors led to
major commercial failures in
this type of system After that
in the last 15 years users who
are unfamiliar with the
technology and technicians
with no expertise in this area
have only naturally been fairly
reluctant to use and deploy this
type of systems
Has the situation changed
Currently the recent and
significant advances in multiple
fields of technology mean that
biometric applications are being
deployed ever more widely
and overcoming the
understandable barriers of
reticence that were so
widespread Several areas have
seen a substantial development
in recent years ergonomics
and sensor quality (such as
those included in smartphones
and other tactile devices)
robust recognition algorithms in
realistic and relatively
uncontrolled operational
conditions and automatic
learning that exploits large
datasets
FINTECH SERIE middot FEBRUARY 2016 middot wwwcentrodeinnovacionbbvacomen
Why are banks companies and governments so interested in
this type of recognition today
Because they have multiple applications and are of crucial
importance These technologies will reduce or eliminate
paperwork in many spheres of e-government in medical records
and legal processes they will streamline many processes
requiring the authentication of individuals they will help prevent
internal and external fraud in companies and institutions they
will make it possible to monitor and certify the skills obtained by
students in distance learning and much more The present and
future of these technologies is very promising
Is this the end of passwords
The aim of biometric systems is not to substitute the current
processes of authentication either cards keys or passwords
The target most researchers working in these technologies are
aiming for at the moment is to improve some aspects of the
current authentication processes by supplementing them in
some cases replacing certain processes in others and
incorporating new processes which were previously impossible
FINTECH SERIE middot FEBRUARY 2016 middot wwwcentrodeinnovacionbbvacomen
Will biometric technology live
alongside passwords
Rather than thinking of doing
away with passwords its more
a case of developing a
complete authentication system
that uses a password and then
improve one or several aspects
of this system (security speed
convenience ease of
management maintenance
costs and so on) by introducing
biometric systems
With this focus in mind I think
well see the coexistence of new
password-free developments
like unlocking cellphones based
on fingerprints or facial images
with a multitude of systems that
continue using passwords or
keys to a certain degree
perhaps supplemented with
some biometric information
The question is not whether
biometrics can eliminate
passwords but whether the use
of biometrics can be of help in
the current world of passwords
The response to this question is
definitely yes and to a great
extent
FINTECH SERIE middot FEBRUARY 2016 middot wwwcentrodeinnovacionbbvacomen
What is the most secure
biometric recognition method
(voice veins irishellip)
All the biometric recognition
methods existing today have
advantages and drawbacks ndash
from voice and handwriting
through to irises and the
pattern of veins on the hand
Specifically if were talking
about security this necessarily
implies an attacker who wants
to gain illicit access Before
comparing biometric features
with others in the area of
security we would need to
specify the model of attacker
through questions such as how
does the attack occur how
hard is it for the attacker to
achieve his or her aim The
suitability of one biometric
feature or another will depend
on the application in question
the scenario of use the model
of attacker who wishes to
violate the system and the
resources at his or her disposal
There are several current
developments that aim to
homogenize these models and
come up with a standard for
considering a biometric system
secure and for its level of
security One such is the
Common Criteria initiative to
which our group is contributing
thanks to the European project
BEAT (Biometrics Evaluation
and Testing)
One feature can be compared
with another based on factors
such as usability economic
cost durability and so on All
these factors once the
application and scenario have
been determined will point to
one biometric feature or
another or a combination of
several used in a specific way
and with specific sensors as
being the optimum solution So
an iris recognition system that
has no protection against
falsification using printed iris
images may be less secure than
a verification system using a
handwritten signature
FINTECH SERIE middot FEBRUARY 2016 middot wwwcentrodeinnovacionbbvacomen
What does it contribute to
banks
The banking environment is
one of the areas that can
benefit most from recent
advances in biometric systems
as many of their operations
depend on the reliable
authentication and
management of their
customers identities Biometrics
can vastly reduce costs such as
the use and recording of
information on paper or the
prevention and control of a
whole range of fraud
Specifically biometric systems
allow the identity of a customer
to be modeled both on one-off
inputs (a handwritten
signature) and in an ongoing
way in the medium and long
term (for example with a
keyboard or mouse and pointer
dynamic)
The detection of anomalous
behavior through these models
is a good way of filtering
possible fraud Todays
technology already allows a full
remote relationship with the
customer by making use of
biometric features such as face
and voice recognition for the
ongoing monitoring of the user
or a handwritten signature on a
touch terminal for
authentication with legal
validity The great difference in
this remote scenario compared
to the scenario with a physical
presence lies in the type of
impostor that seeks to violate
the system the cost of the
attacks impact possible
protection)
FINTECH SERIE middot FEBRUARY 2016 middot wwwcentrodeinnovacionbbvacomen
A greater understanding of
these factors is key to the
success of this type of initiatives
in remote operating
environments Much research
is currently being done in this
area and the problem is not
totally resolved Look at the
results of one of the European
projects in which we have also
been working recently TABULA
RASA (Trusted Biometrics
Under Spoofing Attacks) for
example
iquestWhich country is most
advanced in its uptake of
biometrics
All types of countries from the
United States and Japan to
India and China are investing
heavily in the research and
development of these types of
systems as they are aware of
the present and future benefits
these technologies can provide
Not only the governments of
these countries who have
launched programs to fund
research but also companies
like Google Facebook
Microsoft NEC and Fujitsu are
all making a strong
commitment to this type of
technology
FINTECH SERIE middot FEBRUARY 2016 middot wwwcentrodeinnovacionbbvacomen
What sector do you think it
can help most
As I said before the banking
sector has yet to tap into the
substantial advantages offered
by these technologies in recent
years and it has much to gain
from them They can reduce
the costs related with the
management of identities fraud
prevention customer
convenience and the opening
of new customized services
both in person and remotely
Other sectors that will benefit
vastly from developments in
biometrics include distance
learning (students uptake of the
course material can be
monitored and their learning
outcomes can be certified as a
result) e-government
insurance companies notary
services courts medical
registers and health records
and more) In fact any area in
which it is necessary to
authenticate individuals and
subsequently manage these
identities
Are privacy and biometrics
compatible
Yes Most of the current large-
scale developments in
biometric systems are very
aware of the importance of
protecting privacy particularly
in Europe where the legislation
on data protection is clear and
strict
Many of these biometric
systems do not in fact store (on
the biometric template) the
users registration information in
an open way but via encrypted
versions or with very limited
information which ndashin the most
recent developmentsndash are not
even unencrypted for
comparison with other
biometric templates These
techniques for the protection of
biometric templates are in fact
a red-hot issue in research and
an area in which my group at
the UAM is also working
FINTECH SERIE middot FEBRUARY 2016 middot wwwcentrodeinnovacionbbvacomen
Millennials do not intend to go into a branch in their
lives Theyre used to taking out all services online and
want to have the same facility with banks But as
highlighted in the BBVA Research article ldquoDigital
contracting of financial services electronic identity as a
key elementrdquo there is no regulatory framework allowing
banks to remotely verify the identity of new customers
02Banks face the challenge of verifying the identity of new customers
FINTECH SERIE middot FEBRUARY 2016 middot wwwcentrodeinnovacionbbvacomen
While Google Facebook or
Skype need not verify the actual
identity of the person accessing
their services mdash not even
Amazon mdash registering with a
bank is not so easy ldquoThe
regulatory framework affecting
registering customers in the
financial sector is not
completely homogeneous
globally Some countries
prohibit the registration
processes through digital
channels and require a physical
meeting to proceed with
customer identification and
verification of their identity
Moreover in those places
where non face-to-face
contracting is permitted it is
sometimes difficult to establish
mechanisms for verifying
identity in these digital channels
that reveal unequivocally who
the customer is highlights the
Article
In Mexico for example one of
the objectives of the bank in
2016 is to strengthen controls
and in recent months reading
fingerprints has been extended
to identify customers and open
new accounts As highlighted in
this article in El Universal ldquowith
a customers fingerprint and
photograph identity theft is
impossible when the
fingerprints are already
registeredrdquo
The security problem is
growing as highlighted in this
article by BBVA Research
According to the for Strategic
and International Studies (CSIS)
the cost of cybercrime to the
global economy is about $450
billion In addition the
Ponemon Institute reports that
in 2013 43 of US companies
experienced a breach of data
security Individually the
greatest risks are identity theft
and loss of confidential
information The CSIS estimates
that there were 800 million
stolen personal records in the
same year worldwide In South
Korea for example in a
month over 70 of people
aged between 15 and 65 had
their personal data stolen and
their credit cards were put at
risk In the US according to a
2012 survey conducted by the
Bureau of Justice Statistics
phishing affected 166 million
people at a cost of $247
billion in financial losses
FINTECH SERIE middot FEBRUARY 2016 middot wwwcentrodeinnovacionbbvacomen
And how can identification be
guaranteed As highlighted by
BBVA Research The regulatory
framework affecting registering
customers in the financial
sector is not completely
homogeneous globally Some
countries prohibit the
registration processes through
digital channels and require a
physical meeting to proceed
with customer identification
and verification of their identity
Moreover in those places
where non face-to-face
contracting is permitted it is
sometimes difficult to
establish mechanisms for
verifying identity in these
digital channels that reveal
unequivocally who the
customer is highlights the
Article
Returning to Millennials and the
previous generation a survey
by Telstraglobal on generations
X and Y (those born between
1966-1976 and 1977-1994
respectively) indicates that
more than half of respondents
rate trust as the most
important factor of choice
when selecting a financial
services provider One in five
people would share their DNA
to help protect their financial
and personal information and
up to one in two people would
be willing to pay for a mobile
identity In addition less than
half are satisfied with their
institutions security more than
a third have experienced
phishing 40 of victims
believed it was the institutions
fault and 65 is likely to leave
the bank as a consequence of
this
2016 promises to be the
breakout year for biometrics
And banks cannot be left
behind
FINTECH SERIE middot FEBREUAY 2016 middot wwwcentrodeinnovacionbbvacomen
Emilio Martiacutenez CEO of Agnitio the company specializing
in voice biometric systems highlights the benefits of
voiceprints for personal authentication
03INTERVIEW
ldquoPasswords are inconvenient and insecure and their end is in sight
FINTECH SERIE middot FEBRUARY 2016 middot wwwcentrodeinnovacionbbvacomen
How did Agnitio start
AGNITIO started in 2004 as a
spin-off from the Madrid
Polytechnic University A
group of the signal treatment
department had worked for
years with the Guardia Civil
police force to develop a voice
biometric system that would
enable them to identify
criminals and terrorists from
their voices This system was
known from other European
police forces and sparked
considerable interest The
founding members negotiated
a contract with the university
for the transfer of the
technology and thats how
AGNITIO came about
Whats the profile of the
employees
92 of the employees are
engineers or graduates in
areas of advanced technology
This is an extremely
technological company with a
very high component of
R+D+i
How many countries do you
operate in and what sector
interests you most or is most
interested in your services
Agnitio has facilities in over 40
countries around the world
The geographical areas where
we have the greatest presence
are eastern Europe Latin
America and the United States
In the US we have a subsidiary
that sells to and supports our
customers in North America
With regard to market
segments our presence is
above all in the government
security sector (police and
intelligence corps and defense
organizations) followed by the
financial sector
FINTECH SERIE middot FEBRUARY 2016 middot wwwcentrodeinnovacionbbvacomen
be identified with an extremely
high degree of accuracy
Do they use complex and
expensive tools
The system is purely software
In other words the voice can
be recorded with any
microphone and theres no
need for any special IT
processing system Normal
servers and computers are
used Whats complex is the
software for processing the
signal ndashhighly complex
mathematical algorithms
efficiently programmed to
respond in fractions of a
second with todays processors
The cost depends on the size
of the project measured in
number of voiceprints that are
to be used andor the number
of parallel processes that our
technology is going to use
What are the features of
biometric voice verification
When someone speaks as well
as the information they transmit
in the form of words the
unique features of their vocal
tract ndashthe larynx the nasal
cavity the palate and so onndash
make an imprint on the sound
waves This voiceprint is
independent of the language
the person is speaking the
phrases theyre saying or the
individuals state of mind Card
technology is capable of
extracting this information and
storing it in the form of a
numerical ldquovoice imprintrdquo When
an unknown person is speaking
on the phone for example that
voice can be compared with
the stored voiceprint and
allows the person speaking to
FINTECH SERIE middot FEBRUARY 2016 middot wwwcentrodeinnovacionbbvacomen
These systems are not
accessible to individual
consumers because of their
cost but are acquired and
implemented by government
organizations and financial
institutions
How has the technology
advanced in this field
The study of voice biometrics
began in the 1990s but it
wasnt until the beginning of the
21st century that we saw the
first systems that could be
efficiently used The UPM
delivered the prototype of our
forensic identification system to
the Guardia Civil in 2000 Since
then several pioneering
research groups ndashof which we
are proud to be onendash have
gradually improved and
modified the algorithms to
obtain better results Our
products are already now in the
fourth generation of the
technology
Along with the improvements in
accuracy the calculations can
now be done much faster and
with fewer resources Our
earliest call-monitoring systems
with voice biometrics required
fifty times more processors
than they do today
What advantages does it have
compared to other
identification methods
(fingerprints irishellip)
The various biometric models
are not in competition but
complement each other in a
multi-factor authentication
environment When we come
near a person we use all our
FINTECH SERIE middot FEBRUARY 2016 middot wwwcentrodeinnovacionbbvacomen
ldquosensorsrdquo to identify them their
faces their way of walking
their voice and so on In the
same way in the future people
will be automatically identified
using all the possibilities
available on the devices
Sometimes some will be more
important than others Voice is
very important in situations of
remote authentication when
you cant see or touch the
person ndashin telephone
communications for example
Are they more efficient
The sensors needed to make a
voice authentication are
microphones and today we all
carry these around in our
pocket (in our cellphones) or
we have them on our
computer In terms of cost this
makes it much more efficient
than a fingerprint or iris
recognition which needs a
special sensor requiring special
care And its also the most
natural system Everyones used
to talking to speaking on the
phone Its not something thats
considered intrusive unlike
taking a photo of your eye or
taking your fingerprint
Whats more were increasingly
using our voices to interact with
our surroundings In the future
well communicate with a whole
range of devices in our cars
and homes and at work by
using our voices to give
commands and obtain
information Using our same
voice as a way of authenticating
ourselves will become more
natural than using any other
biometric model Well identify
ourselves with the same
phrases we use when we to talk
with virtual assistants
What can it provide for a
bank
Voice biometric applications in
the world of finance are only
just beginning Perhaps the
application with the best return
on investment today is fraud
detection in call centers The
use of ldquoblacklistsrdquo of voices of
people who have committed
fraud can be used to filter
incoming calls This is having a
massive effect on preventingthe
proliferation of organized gangs
who used the call center to
commit fraud or obtain
information with which to
commit fraud through other
channels
FINTECH SERIE middot FEBRUARY 2016 middot wwwcentrodeinnovacionbbvacomen
Voice authentication also
reduces fraud and makes the
user experience on the
telephone or mobile channel
much faster and more user-
friendly
How
Multichannel systems can be
deployed that combine
authentication in the Banks
different channels telephone
mobile Internet video-chat
social networks and so on It
can also be used to sign
documents using the voice
Customers can use their voice
to accept a contract and this
voice converted into a
voiceprint can be used as the
ldquosignaturerdquo for the document
This way a customer can open
a bank account via only the
Internet andor telephone
channel without having to go to
the branch office
Of course many of these
advances must pass through
regulatory filters and be
accompanied by other security
and control systems
In the case of a physical
presence a handwritten
signature is normally used as
authentication when making a
transaction And in many cases
it includes the comparison of an
identity document with a
photograph These procedures
also have their weak points
when the comparison is done
by people who are not expert in
handwriting or in document
recognition As far as I know
theres no comparison of false
positives between physical
presence systems and
biometric models but Im sure
there would be no surprises
and particularly in the case of
very well planned attacks
Is it very difficult to copy a
voice
Voices can be recorded and
reproduced later in attempt to
imitate the legitimate user This
is why the measures to prevent
these recorded attacks (anti-
spoofing in biometric slang) are
very important in any
implementation that does not
involve an agent speaking to
the person on a direct line
Agnitio has several patented
systems that guard against
these attacks using very
sophisticated technology that
detects the
recordingreproduction cycle
and compares it to the direct
use of the voice
It is impossible today to
generate a voice which so
closely resembles someones
voice that it can deceive the
system Both professional
imitators and voice synthesis
systems can easily be detected
by our software
FINTECH SERIE middot FEBRUARY 2016 middot wwwcentrodeinnovacionbbvacomen
Do you believe that man-in-the-middle attacks
are more dangerous for voice systems and is it
easier to obtain a voice sample than one from
another part of the body
MITM attacks are normally related with encrypted
communication between two systems This occurs
in voice biometrics when the communication takes
place via the IP network and not the telephone
channel In these cases protecting the voiceprint
by correctly encrypting it is an additional problem
to be resolved by systems integrators to avoid the
possibility of these voiceprints (and digital or facial
biometrics) being intercepted and changed This is
why voice biometrics ndashin particular encrypted
voiceprints (not the voice itself)ndash is neither more
nor less likely to suffer attack by MITM
However the voice is often used as authentication
via a different channel (out of band authentication)
Using a brief telephone call on a previously agreed
phone number and making the user say a certain
phrase is the most convenient and secure way of
making an out-of-band authentication
FINTECH SERIE middot FEBRUARY 2016 middot wwwcentrodeinnovacionbbvacomen
Will biometric systems do
away with passwords
Im convinced that the end of
passwords is in sight at least as
a basic authentication tool
Companies banks and online
retailers canrsquot go on torturing
their customers by making
them remember secure
passwords that need to be
frequently changed Today an
average user can have as many
as 60 passwords with 20 being
the average in a European
country Some studies indicate
that ten of them are used on a
daily basis And of course to
keep them safe they have to be
long contain uppercase and
lowercase symbols and be
frequently changed Thats
impossible to maintain
Theres no doubt that
biometrics is one of the ways in
which this problem is going to
be resolved It will be assisted
by other security technologies
to ensure that the entire
process is secure and that the
security is sufficiently
dimensioned for the information
its protecting Im convinced
that sooner or later well
perhaps have just a few very
secure passwords that we wont
need to use very often and
which will only be used as
backup systems in extreme
cases
What are the advantages of
biometric verification by voice
compared to passwords
Passwords are impossible to
remember when theyre even
remotely secure And theyre
also easy to steal or find out
They have the worst of both
worlds theyre inconvenient
and not very secure Multimodal
biometric verification is both
convenient for the user and
extremely secure It can be
flexibly adapted to the
environment
FINTECH SERIE middot FEBRUARY 2016 middot wwwcentrodeinnovacionbbvacomen
Which country is the most
advanced
The use of voice biometrics in
governments is more advanced
in Europe than in the United
States for several historic
reasons However the
implementation in the financial
sector is more advanced in the
United States
What are the next challenges
for Agnitio
The most important challenge
for any company at the
forefront of a technology sector
is to stay ahead ndashlike the Queen
of Hearts in Alice in
Wonderland who had to keep
running to stay in the same
place In other words the
challenge is to continue with
the work of research into new
algorithms in order to improve
both the accuracy speed and
the size of the systems Agnitio
is now in the fourth generation
of voice identification
technology Were now working
on the fifth generation which
will be much more robust
against environmental noise
have spectacular improvements
in accuracy in short speech
and be able to learn to
recognize users very fast over
time These are some of the
requirements for authentication
in the cloud services that wersquoll
be seeing on a massive scale in
the coming years
FINTECH SERIE middot FEBRUARY 2016 middot wwwcentrodeinnovacionbbvacomen
The bank and First Direct offer their 15 million customers
biometric banking software for accessing their accounts
online and by phone using their fingerprint or voice
04HSBCs bid forbiometrics
Fifteen million customers identified through their voice and
fingerprints This is the goal set by HSBC which is extending its
bid for biometrics in the United Kingdom HSBC and First Direct
customers who use telephone banking and mobile apps can
access their accounts through a system that checks their voice
and fingerprint The bank believes that the software will help it
address the issue of forgotten passwords
FINTECH SERIE middot FEBRUARY 2016 middot wwwcentrodeinnovacionbbvacomen
Francesca McDonagh HSBCs
retail banking and wealth
management manager
describes the decision as ldquothe
largest deployment of voice-
based biometric security
technology in the United
Kingdomrdquo ldquoThe launch of voice
and touch ID makes it even
easier for customers to access
their bank accounts using the
safest form of password the
bodyrdquo she concludes in this
article published in The
Guardian
First Direct will start registering
customers for voice
identification in the coming
weeks and HSBC will follow suit
in summer Customers who
decide to use this option must
register their ldquovoiceprintrdquo and
will never again have to use a
phone password or PIN
FINTECH SERIE middot FEBRUARY 2016 middot wwwcentrodeinnovacionbbvacomen
The English newspaper mentions other
examples of banks that are embracing
biometrics
Barclays launched its voice recognition software
for its 300000 wealthiest customers in the United
Kingdom in 2013 One year later it said that this
technology had been so successful that it would
extend it to its 12 million retail banking customers
Barclays intends to offer them voice recognition
by the end of this year since ldquoit has been
incredibly popularrdquo among its wealthiest
customers who used to spend 15 minutes
checking their identity and can now do so in
less than ten seconds
Lloyds Banking Group has said that it is
considering including Amazon Echo in its online
banking services a voice-controlled hands-free
device that is only available in the United States
The bank claims that 360000 blind or visually
impaired people in the United Kingdom could
benefit from voice recognition
FINTECH SERIE middot FEBRUARY 2016 middot wwwcentrodeinnovacionbbvacomen
Royal Bank of Scotland says that
touch ID has been a ldquogreat
successrdquo following its launch last
year with over one million
customers now logging in using
their fingerprint
In the United States several banks
have tested biometric technology
and Citi has around 250000
customers who use voice
recognition authentication
Touch ID is available on all Apple
mobile devices for HSBC and First
Direct Customers have to
download the mobile banking app
and follow the instructions for
associating their fingerprint
And yes it works even if you have
a cold Joe Gordon HSBCs
customer contact manager in the
United Kingdom says that voice
recognition works even if you
have a cold In the BBC Today
program he claimed that ldquowe will
be able to deal with people with a
cold or with slight handicaps
Things like the size of our mouth
or the vocal tract dont change
Neither does the rhythm or
accent when a person has a
slight coldrdquo
Nuance Communication is
supplying the voice biometric
technology that cross checks
more than 100 unique
identifiers including behavioral
features such as speed rhythm
and pronunciation and physical
aspects like the shape of the
larynx the nasal tract and the
nasal passage
FINTECH SERIE middot FEBRERY 2016 middot wwwcentrodeinnovacionbbvacomen
According to a YouGov survey
published by HSBC the British
believe that along with voice
and touch the heart beats the
hair and even the saliva could
be used as passwords in the
future According to the survey
38 of people use the same
password for most of their
accounts while 55 say that
they rarely update their
passwords 78 of the 2038
adults surveyed were sure that
their body was the only thing
that could be used as a
password and 74 felt that it
would become the default
password in the future
FINTECH SERIE middot FEBRUARY 2016 middot wwwcentrodeinnovacionbbvacomen
The boom of biometric devices
is gaining momentum
positioning themselves firmly in
the security monitoring and
control solutions market
05INFOGRAPHY
Biometrictechnology
Share in Pinterest
FINTECH SERIE middot FEBRUARY 2016 middot wwwcentrodeinnovacionbbvacomen
Determines an individualacutes
identity The biometric data
are compared against all
the data held in the
database
Confirms an individualacutes
identity by comparing a
simple with one or more
templates obtained
previously
Identification vs Verification
Perceptions of authentication
61
Belive that biometric authentication is
as safe as passwordsWould like to use digital fingerprint
scanning to Access their accounts
40
FINTECH SERIE middot FEBRUARY 2016 middot wwwcentrodeinnovacionbbvacomen
Biometric solutions
Iris
Facerecognition
Voicerecognition
Fingerprint
Signature
Vascular
IrisCaptures an infrared picture of the personacutes eye which isprocessed to obtain the spectral information of the iris
Face recognitionThe faceacutes features are obtained using a low-resolution camera
Voice recognitionThe voiceacutes features are based on the shape and size of the appendages used to creacuteate the sound
FingerprintA map of the fingerprintacutes peaks and troughs is registeredusing optical termal andor ultrasound technology
SignatureRecording of the act of signing on a piece of paper or tablet The movement not the image is recorded
VascularAn infrared image of the skin is taken to detect the veinsand a map of their distribution is obtained
FINTECH SERIE middot FEBRUARY 2016 middot wwwcentrodeinnovacionbbvacomen
Applications on the market
Uses of biometric authentication
Travel17
Electronics20
Banking $ finance25
Government15
Defens12
Others11
Digital print
Fingerprint
Iris
Face recognition
Others
1
30
9
59
1
FINTECH SERIE middot FEBRUARY 2016 middot wwwcentrodeinnovacionbbvacomen
BBVA Innovation Center
creates the Fintech Serie By
Innovation Edge to keep
informed about the financial
innovation trends with its
milestones analysis cases
studie interviews with experts
and infographics to display the
data that describe each of
these trends
SERIEFINTECH BY innovation edge
share
LASTEST ISSUES
Easy quickly and very efficiently
are the keys of personal
management tools (PFM)
The advance of bitcoin and
payments
The takeoff of emerging companies
in a competitive world
A new concept in the world
of lsquostartupsrsquo
Regiacutestratepara estar al diacutea de las uacuteltimas tendencias
centrodeinnovacionbbvacom
centrodeinnovacionbbvacominnovation-edge
siacuteguenos
BBVA no se hace responsable de las opiniones publicadas en este documento
Why are banks companies and governments so interested in
this type of recognition today
Because they have multiple applications and are of crucial
importance These technologies will reduce or eliminate
paperwork in many spheres of e-government in medical records
and legal processes they will streamline many processes
requiring the authentication of individuals they will help prevent
internal and external fraud in companies and institutions they
will make it possible to monitor and certify the skills obtained by
students in distance learning and much more The present and
future of these technologies is very promising
Is this the end of passwords
The aim of biometric systems is not to substitute the current
processes of authentication either cards keys or passwords
The target most researchers working in these technologies are
aiming for at the moment is to improve some aspects of the
current authentication processes by supplementing them in
some cases replacing certain processes in others and
incorporating new processes which were previously impossible
FINTECH SERIE middot FEBRUARY 2016 middot wwwcentrodeinnovacionbbvacomen
Will biometric technology live
alongside passwords
Rather than thinking of doing
away with passwords its more
a case of developing a
complete authentication system
that uses a password and then
improve one or several aspects
of this system (security speed
convenience ease of
management maintenance
costs and so on) by introducing
biometric systems
With this focus in mind I think
well see the coexistence of new
password-free developments
like unlocking cellphones based
on fingerprints or facial images
with a multitude of systems that
continue using passwords or
keys to a certain degree
perhaps supplemented with
some biometric information
The question is not whether
biometrics can eliminate
passwords but whether the use
of biometrics can be of help in
the current world of passwords
The response to this question is
definitely yes and to a great
extent
FINTECH SERIE middot FEBRUARY 2016 middot wwwcentrodeinnovacionbbvacomen
What is the most secure
biometric recognition method
(voice veins irishellip)
All the biometric recognition
methods existing today have
advantages and drawbacks ndash
from voice and handwriting
through to irises and the
pattern of veins on the hand
Specifically if were talking
about security this necessarily
implies an attacker who wants
to gain illicit access Before
comparing biometric features
with others in the area of
security we would need to
specify the model of attacker
through questions such as how
does the attack occur how
hard is it for the attacker to
achieve his or her aim The
suitability of one biometric
feature or another will depend
on the application in question
the scenario of use the model
of attacker who wishes to
violate the system and the
resources at his or her disposal
There are several current
developments that aim to
homogenize these models and
come up with a standard for
considering a biometric system
secure and for its level of
security One such is the
Common Criteria initiative to
which our group is contributing
thanks to the European project
BEAT (Biometrics Evaluation
and Testing)
One feature can be compared
with another based on factors
such as usability economic
cost durability and so on All
these factors once the
application and scenario have
been determined will point to
one biometric feature or
another or a combination of
several used in a specific way
and with specific sensors as
being the optimum solution So
an iris recognition system that
has no protection against
falsification using printed iris
images may be less secure than
a verification system using a
handwritten signature
FINTECH SERIE middot FEBRUARY 2016 middot wwwcentrodeinnovacionbbvacomen
What does it contribute to
banks
The banking environment is
one of the areas that can
benefit most from recent
advances in biometric systems
as many of their operations
depend on the reliable
authentication and
management of their
customers identities Biometrics
can vastly reduce costs such as
the use and recording of
information on paper or the
prevention and control of a
whole range of fraud
Specifically biometric systems
allow the identity of a customer
to be modeled both on one-off
inputs (a handwritten
signature) and in an ongoing
way in the medium and long
term (for example with a
keyboard or mouse and pointer
dynamic)
The detection of anomalous
behavior through these models
is a good way of filtering
possible fraud Todays
technology already allows a full
remote relationship with the
customer by making use of
biometric features such as face
and voice recognition for the
ongoing monitoring of the user
or a handwritten signature on a
touch terminal for
authentication with legal
validity The great difference in
this remote scenario compared
to the scenario with a physical
presence lies in the type of
impostor that seeks to violate
the system the cost of the
attacks impact possible
protection)
FINTECH SERIE middot FEBRUARY 2016 middot wwwcentrodeinnovacionbbvacomen
A greater understanding of
these factors is key to the
success of this type of initiatives
in remote operating
environments Much research
is currently being done in this
area and the problem is not
totally resolved Look at the
results of one of the European
projects in which we have also
been working recently TABULA
RASA (Trusted Biometrics
Under Spoofing Attacks) for
example
iquestWhich country is most
advanced in its uptake of
biometrics
All types of countries from the
United States and Japan to
India and China are investing
heavily in the research and
development of these types of
systems as they are aware of
the present and future benefits
these technologies can provide
Not only the governments of
these countries who have
launched programs to fund
research but also companies
like Google Facebook
Microsoft NEC and Fujitsu are
all making a strong
commitment to this type of
technology
FINTECH SERIE middot FEBRUARY 2016 middot wwwcentrodeinnovacionbbvacomen
What sector do you think it
can help most
As I said before the banking
sector has yet to tap into the
substantial advantages offered
by these technologies in recent
years and it has much to gain
from them They can reduce
the costs related with the
management of identities fraud
prevention customer
convenience and the opening
of new customized services
both in person and remotely
Other sectors that will benefit
vastly from developments in
biometrics include distance
learning (students uptake of the
course material can be
monitored and their learning
outcomes can be certified as a
result) e-government
insurance companies notary
services courts medical
registers and health records
and more) In fact any area in
which it is necessary to
authenticate individuals and
subsequently manage these
identities
Are privacy and biometrics
compatible
Yes Most of the current large-
scale developments in
biometric systems are very
aware of the importance of
protecting privacy particularly
in Europe where the legislation
on data protection is clear and
strict
Many of these biometric
systems do not in fact store (on
the biometric template) the
users registration information in
an open way but via encrypted
versions or with very limited
information which ndashin the most
recent developmentsndash are not
even unencrypted for
comparison with other
biometric templates These
techniques for the protection of
biometric templates are in fact
a red-hot issue in research and
an area in which my group at
the UAM is also working
FINTECH SERIE middot FEBRUARY 2016 middot wwwcentrodeinnovacionbbvacomen
Millennials do not intend to go into a branch in their
lives Theyre used to taking out all services online and
want to have the same facility with banks But as
highlighted in the BBVA Research article ldquoDigital
contracting of financial services electronic identity as a
key elementrdquo there is no regulatory framework allowing
banks to remotely verify the identity of new customers
02Banks face the challenge of verifying the identity of new customers
FINTECH SERIE middot FEBRUARY 2016 middot wwwcentrodeinnovacionbbvacomen
While Google Facebook or
Skype need not verify the actual
identity of the person accessing
their services mdash not even
Amazon mdash registering with a
bank is not so easy ldquoThe
regulatory framework affecting
registering customers in the
financial sector is not
completely homogeneous
globally Some countries
prohibit the registration
processes through digital
channels and require a physical
meeting to proceed with
customer identification and
verification of their identity
Moreover in those places
where non face-to-face
contracting is permitted it is
sometimes difficult to establish
mechanisms for verifying
identity in these digital channels
that reveal unequivocally who
the customer is highlights the
Article
In Mexico for example one of
the objectives of the bank in
2016 is to strengthen controls
and in recent months reading
fingerprints has been extended
to identify customers and open
new accounts As highlighted in
this article in El Universal ldquowith
a customers fingerprint and
photograph identity theft is
impossible when the
fingerprints are already
registeredrdquo
The security problem is
growing as highlighted in this
article by BBVA Research
According to the for Strategic
and International Studies (CSIS)
the cost of cybercrime to the
global economy is about $450
billion In addition the
Ponemon Institute reports that
in 2013 43 of US companies
experienced a breach of data
security Individually the
greatest risks are identity theft
and loss of confidential
information The CSIS estimates
that there were 800 million
stolen personal records in the
same year worldwide In South
Korea for example in a
month over 70 of people
aged between 15 and 65 had
their personal data stolen and
their credit cards were put at
risk In the US according to a
2012 survey conducted by the
Bureau of Justice Statistics
phishing affected 166 million
people at a cost of $247
billion in financial losses
FINTECH SERIE middot FEBRUARY 2016 middot wwwcentrodeinnovacionbbvacomen
And how can identification be
guaranteed As highlighted by
BBVA Research The regulatory
framework affecting registering
customers in the financial
sector is not completely
homogeneous globally Some
countries prohibit the
registration processes through
digital channels and require a
physical meeting to proceed
with customer identification
and verification of their identity
Moreover in those places
where non face-to-face
contracting is permitted it is
sometimes difficult to
establish mechanisms for
verifying identity in these
digital channels that reveal
unequivocally who the
customer is highlights the
Article
Returning to Millennials and the
previous generation a survey
by Telstraglobal on generations
X and Y (those born between
1966-1976 and 1977-1994
respectively) indicates that
more than half of respondents
rate trust as the most
important factor of choice
when selecting a financial
services provider One in five
people would share their DNA
to help protect their financial
and personal information and
up to one in two people would
be willing to pay for a mobile
identity In addition less than
half are satisfied with their
institutions security more than
a third have experienced
phishing 40 of victims
believed it was the institutions
fault and 65 is likely to leave
the bank as a consequence of
this
2016 promises to be the
breakout year for biometrics
And banks cannot be left
behind
FINTECH SERIE middot FEBREUAY 2016 middot wwwcentrodeinnovacionbbvacomen
Emilio Martiacutenez CEO of Agnitio the company specializing
in voice biometric systems highlights the benefits of
voiceprints for personal authentication
03INTERVIEW
ldquoPasswords are inconvenient and insecure and their end is in sight
FINTECH SERIE middot FEBRUARY 2016 middot wwwcentrodeinnovacionbbvacomen
How did Agnitio start
AGNITIO started in 2004 as a
spin-off from the Madrid
Polytechnic University A
group of the signal treatment
department had worked for
years with the Guardia Civil
police force to develop a voice
biometric system that would
enable them to identify
criminals and terrorists from
their voices This system was
known from other European
police forces and sparked
considerable interest The
founding members negotiated
a contract with the university
for the transfer of the
technology and thats how
AGNITIO came about
Whats the profile of the
employees
92 of the employees are
engineers or graduates in
areas of advanced technology
This is an extremely
technological company with a
very high component of
R+D+i
How many countries do you
operate in and what sector
interests you most or is most
interested in your services
Agnitio has facilities in over 40
countries around the world
The geographical areas where
we have the greatest presence
are eastern Europe Latin
America and the United States
In the US we have a subsidiary
that sells to and supports our
customers in North America
With regard to market
segments our presence is
above all in the government
security sector (police and
intelligence corps and defense
organizations) followed by the
financial sector
FINTECH SERIE middot FEBRUARY 2016 middot wwwcentrodeinnovacionbbvacomen
be identified with an extremely
high degree of accuracy
Do they use complex and
expensive tools
The system is purely software
In other words the voice can
be recorded with any
microphone and theres no
need for any special IT
processing system Normal
servers and computers are
used Whats complex is the
software for processing the
signal ndashhighly complex
mathematical algorithms
efficiently programmed to
respond in fractions of a
second with todays processors
The cost depends on the size
of the project measured in
number of voiceprints that are
to be used andor the number
of parallel processes that our
technology is going to use
What are the features of
biometric voice verification
When someone speaks as well
as the information they transmit
in the form of words the
unique features of their vocal
tract ndashthe larynx the nasal
cavity the palate and so onndash
make an imprint on the sound
waves This voiceprint is
independent of the language
the person is speaking the
phrases theyre saying or the
individuals state of mind Card
technology is capable of
extracting this information and
storing it in the form of a
numerical ldquovoice imprintrdquo When
an unknown person is speaking
on the phone for example that
voice can be compared with
the stored voiceprint and
allows the person speaking to
FINTECH SERIE middot FEBRUARY 2016 middot wwwcentrodeinnovacionbbvacomen
These systems are not
accessible to individual
consumers because of their
cost but are acquired and
implemented by government
organizations and financial
institutions
How has the technology
advanced in this field
The study of voice biometrics
began in the 1990s but it
wasnt until the beginning of the
21st century that we saw the
first systems that could be
efficiently used The UPM
delivered the prototype of our
forensic identification system to
the Guardia Civil in 2000 Since
then several pioneering
research groups ndashof which we
are proud to be onendash have
gradually improved and
modified the algorithms to
obtain better results Our
products are already now in the
fourth generation of the
technology
Along with the improvements in
accuracy the calculations can
now be done much faster and
with fewer resources Our
earliest call-monitoring systems
with voice biometrics required
fifty times more processors
than they do today
What advantages does it have
compared to other
identification methods
(fingerprints irishellip)
The various biometric models
are not in competition but
complement each other in a
multi-factor authentication
environment When we come
near a person we use all our
FINTECH SERIE middot FEBRUARY 2016 middot wwwcentrodeinnovacionbbvacomen
ldquosensorsrdquo to identify them their
faces their way of walking
their voice and so on In the
same way in the future people
will be automatically identified
using all the possibilities
available on the devices
Sometimes some will be more
important than others Voice is
very important in situations of
remote authentication when
you cant see or touch the
person ndashin telephone
communications for example
Are they more efficient
The sensors needed to make a
voice authentication are
microphones and today we all
carry these around in our
pocket (in our cellphones) or
we have them on our
computer In terms of cost this
makes it much more efficient
than a fingerprint or iris
recognition which needs a
special sensor requiring special
care And its also the most
natural system Everyones used
to talking to speaking on the
phone Its not something thats
considered intrusive unlike
taking a photo of your eye or
taking your fingerprint
Whats more were increasingly
using our voices to interact with
our surroundings In the future
well communicate with a whole
range of devices in our cars
and homes and at work by
using our voices to give
commands and obtain
information Using our same
voice as a way of authenticating
ourselves will become more
natural than using any other
biometric model Well identify
ourselves with the same
phrases we use when we to talk
with virtual assistants
What can it provide for a
bank
Voice biometric applications in
the world of finance are only
just beginning Perhaps the
application with the best return
on investment today is fraud
detection in call centers The
use of ldquoblacklistsrdquo of voices of
people who have committed
fraud can be used to filter
incoming calls This is having a
massive effect on preventingthe
proliferation of organized gangs
who used the call center to
commit fraud or obtain
information with which to
commit fraud through other
channels
FINTECH SERIE middot FEBRUARY 2016 middot wwwcentrodeinnovacionbbvacomen
Voice authentication also
reduces fraud and makes the
user experience on the
telephone or mobile channel
much faster and more user-
friendly
How
Multichannel systems can be
deployed that combine
authentication in the Banks
different channels telephone
mobile Internet video-chat
social networks and so on It
can also be used to sign
documents using the voice
Customers can use their voice
to accept a contract and this
voice converted into a
voiceprint can be used as the
ldquosignaturerdquo for the document
This way a customer can open
a bank account via only the
Internet andor telephone
channel without having to go to
the branch office
Of course many of these
advances must pass through
regulatory filters and be
accompanied by other security
and control systems
In the case of a physical
presence a handwritten
signature is normally used as
authentication when making a
transaction And in many cases
it includes the comparison of an
identity document with a
photograph These procedures
also have their weak points
when the comparison is done
by people who are not expert in
handwriting or in document
recognition As far as I know
theres no comparison of false
positives between physical
presence systems and
biometric models but Im sure
there would be no surprises
and particularly in the case of
very well planned attacks
Is it very difficult to copy a
voice
Voices can be recorded and
reproduced later in attempt to
imitate the legitimate user This
is why the measures to prevent
these recorded attacks (anti-
spoofing in biometric slang) are
very important in any
implementation that does not
involve an agent speaking to
the person on a direct line
Agnitio has several patented
systems that guard against
these attacks using very
sophisticated technology that
detects the
recordingreproduction cycle
and compares it to the direct
use of the voice
It is impossible today to
generate a voice which so
closely resembles someones
voice that it can deceive the
system Both professional
imitators and voice synthesis
systems can easily be detected
by our software
FINTECH SERIE middot FEBRUARY 2016 middot wwwcentrodeinnovacionbbvacomen
Do you believe that man-in-the-middle attacks
are more dangerous for voice systems and is it
easier to obtain a voice sample than one from
another part of the body
MITM attacks are normally related with encrypted
communication between two systems This occurs
in voice biometrics when the communication takes
place via the IP network and not the telephone
channel In these cases protecting the voiceprint
by correctly encrypting it is an additional problem
to be resolved by systems integrators to avoid the
possibility of these voiceprints (and digital or facial
biometrics) being intercepted and changed This is
why voice biometrics ndashin particular encrypted
voiceprints (not the voice itself)ndash is neither more
nor less likely to suffer attack by MITM
However the voice is often used as authentication
via a different channel (out of band authentication)
Using a brief telephone call on a previously agreed
phone number and making the user say a certain
phrase is the most convenient and secure way of
making an out-of-band authentication
FINTECH SERIE middot FEBRUARY 2016 middot wwwcentrodeinnovacionbbvacomen
Will biometric systems do
away with passwords
Im convinced that the end of
passwords is in sight at least as
a basic authentication tool
Companies banks and online
retailers canrsquot go on torturing
their customers by making
them remember secure
passwords that need to be
frequently changed Today an
average user can have as many
as 60 passwords with 20 being
the average in a European
country Some studies indicate
that ten of them are used on a
daily basis And of course to
keep them safe they have to be
long contain uppercase and
lowercase symbols and be
frequently changed Thats
impossible to maintain
Theres no doubt that
biometrics is one of the ways in
which this problem is going to
be resolved It will be assisted
by other security technologies
to ensure that the entire
process is secure and that the
security is sufficiently
dimensioned for the information
its protecting Im convinced
that sooner or later well
perhaps have just a few very
secure passwords that we wont
need to use very often and
which will only be used as
backup systems in extreme
cases
What are the advantages of
biometric verification by voice
compared to passwords
Passwords are impossible to
remember when theyre even
remotely secure And theyre
also easy to steal or find out
They have the worst of both
worlds theyre inconvenient
and not very secure Multimodal
biometric verification is both
convenient for the user and
extremely secure It can be
flexibly adapted to the
environment
FINTECH SERIE middot FEBRUARY 2016 middot wwwcentrodeinnovacionbbvacomen
Which country is the most
advanced
The use of voice biometrics in
governments is more advanced
in Europe than in the United
States for several historic
reasons However the
implementation in the financial
sector is more advanced in the
United States
What are the next challenges
for Agnitio
The most important challenge
for any company at the
forefront of a technology sector
is to stay ahead ndashlike the Queen
of Hearts in Alice in
Wonderland who had to keep
running to stay in the same
place In other words the
challenge is to continue with
the work of research into new
algorithms in order to improve
both the accuracy speed and
the size of the systems Agnitio
is now in the fourth generation
of voice identification
technology Were now working
on the fifth generation which
will be much more robust
against environmental noise
have spectacular improvements
in accuracy in short speech
and be able to learn to
recognize users very fast over
time These are some of the
requirements for authentication
in the cloud services that wersquoll
be seeing on a massive scale in
the coming years
FINTECH SERIE middot FEBRUARY 2016 middot wwwcentrodeinnovacionbbvacomen
The bank and First Direct offer their 15 million customers
biometric banking software for accessing their accounts
online and by phone using their fingerprint or voice
04HSBCs bid forbiometrics
Fifteen million customers identified through their voice and
fingerprints This is the goal set by HSBC which is extending its
bid for biometrics in the United Kingdom HSBC and First Direct
customers who use telephone banking and mobile apps can
access their accounts through a system that checks their voice
and fingerprint The bank believes that the software will help it
address the issue of forgotten passwords
FINTECH SERIE middot FEBRUARY 2016 middot wwwcentrodeinnovacionbbvacomen
Francesca McDonagh HSBCs
retail banking and wealth
management manager
describes the decision as ldquothe
largest deployment of voice-
based biometric security
technology in the United
Kingdomrdquo ldquoThe launch of voice
and touch ID makes it even
easier for customers to access
their bank accounts using the
safest form of password the
bodyrdquo she concludes in this
article published in The
Guardian
First Direct will start registering
customers for voice
identification in the coming
weeks and HSBC will follow suit
in summer Customers who
decide to use this option must
register their ldquovoiceprintrdquo and
will never again have to use a
phone password or PIN
FINTECH SERIE middot FEBRUARY 2016 middot wwwcentrodeinnovacionbbvacomen
The English newspaper mentions other
examples of banks that are embracing
biometrics
Barclays launched its voice recognition software
for its 300000 wealthiest customers in the United
Kingdom in 2013 One year later it said that this
technology had been so successful that it would
extend it to its 12 million retail banking customers
Barclays intends to offer them voice recognition
by the end of this year since ldquoit has been
incredibly popularrdquo among its wealthiest
customers who used to spend 15 minutes
checking their identity and can now do so in
less than ten seconds
Lloyds Banking Group has said that it is
considering including Amazon Echo in its online
banking services a voice-controlled hands-free
device that is only available in the United States
The bank claims that 360000 blind or visually
impaired people in the United Kingdom could
benefit from voice recognition
FINTECH SERIE middot FEBRUARY 2016 middot wwwcentrodeinnovacionbbvacomen
Royal Bank of Scotland says that
touch ID has been a ldquogreat
successrdquo following its launch last
year with over one million
customers now logging in using
their fingerprint
In the United States several banks
have tested biometric technology
and Citi has around 250000
customers who use voice
recognition authentication
Touch ID is available on all Apple
mobile devices for HSBC and First
Direct Customers have to
download the mobile banking app
and follow the instructions for
associating their fingerprint
And yes it works even if you have
a cold Joe Gordon HSBCs
customer contact manager in the
United Kingdom says that voice
recognition works even if you
have a cold In the BBC Today
program he claimed that ldquowe will
be able to deal with people with a
cold or with slight handicaps
Things like the size of our mouth
or the vocal tract dont change
Neither does the rhythm or
accent when a person has a
slight coldrdquo
Nuance Communication is
supplying the voice biometric
technology that cross checks
more than 100 unique
identifiers including behavioral
features such as speed rhythm
and pronunciation and physical
aspects like the shape of the
larynx the nasal tract and the
nasal passage
FINTECH SERIE middot FEBRERY 2016 middot wwwcentrodeinnovacionbbvacomen
According to a YouGov survey
published by HSBC the British
believe that along with voice
and touch the heart beats the
hair and even the saliva could
be used as passwords in the
future According to the survey
38 of people use the same
password for most of their
accounts while 55 say that
they rarely update their
passwords 78 of the 2038
adults surveyed were sure that
their body was the only thing
that could be used as a
password and 74 felt that it
would become the default
password in the future
FINTECH SERIE middot FEBRUARY 2016 middot wwwcentrodeinnovacionbbvacomen
The boom of biometric devices
is gaining momentum
positioning themselves firmly in
the security monitoring and
control solutions market
05INFOGRAPHY
Biometrictechnology
Share in Pinterest
FINTECH SERIE middot FEBRUARY 2016 middot wwwcentrodeinnovacionbbvacomen
Determines an individualacutes
identity The biometric data
are compared against all
the data held in the
database
Confirms an individualacutes
identity by comparing a
simple with one or more
templates obtained
previously
Identification vs Verification
Perceptions of authentication
61
Belive that biometric authentication is
as safe as passwordsWould like to use digital fingerprint
scanning to Access their accounts
40
FINTECH SERIE middot FEBRUARY 2016 middot wwwcentrodeinnovacionbbvacomen
Biometric solutions
Iris
Facerecognition
Voicerecognition
Fingerprint
Signature
Vascular
IrisCaptures an infrared picture of the personacutes eye which isprocessed to obtain the spectral information of the iris
Face recognitionThe faceacutes features are obtained using a low-resolution camera
Voice recognitionThe voiceacutes features are based on the shape and size of the appendages used to creacuteate the sound
FingerprintA map of the fingerprintacutes peaks and troughs is registeredusing optical termal andor ultrasound technology
SignatureRecording of the act of signing on a piece of paper or tablet The movement not the image is recorded
VascularAn infrared image of the skin is taken to detect the veinsand a map of their distribution is obtained
FINTECH SERIE middot FEBRUARY 2016 middot wwwcentrodeinnovacionbbvacomen
Applications on the market
Uses of biometric authentication
Travel17
Electronics20
Banking $ finance25
Government15
Defens12
Others11
Digital print
Fingerprint
Iris
Face recognition
Others
1
30
9
59
1
FINTECH SERIE middot FEBRUARY 2016 middot wwwcentrodeinnovacionbbvacomen
BBVA Innovation Center
creates the Fintech Serie By
Innovation Edge to keep
informed about the financial
innovation trends with its
milestones analysis cases
studie interviews with experts
and infographics to display the
data that describe each of
these trends
SERIEFINTECH BY innovation edge
share
LASTEST ISSUES
Easy quickly and very efficiently
are the keys of personal
management tools (PFM)
The advance of bitcoin and
payments
The takeoff of emerging companies
in a competitive world
A new concept in the world
of lsquostartupsrsquo
Regiacutestratepara estar al diacutea de las uacuteltimas tendencias
centrodeinnovacionbbvacom
centrodeinnovacionbbvacominnovation-edge
siacuteguenos
BBVA no se hace responsable de las opiniones publicadas en este documento
Will biometric technology live
alongside passwords
Rather than thinking of doing
away with passwords its more
a case of developing a
complete authentication system
that uses a password and then
improve one or several aspects
of this system (security speed
convenience ease of
management maintenance
costs and so on) by introducing
biometric systems
With this focus in mind I think
well see the coexistence of new
password-free developments
like unlocking cellphones based
on fingerprints or facial images
with a multitude of systems that
continue using passwords or
keys to a certain degree
perhaps supplemented with
some biometric information
The question is not whether
biometrics can eliminate
passwords but whether the use
of biometrics can be of help in
the current world of passwords
The response to this question is
definitely yes and to a great
extent
FINTECH SERIE middot FEBRUARY 2016 middot wwwcentrodeinnovacionbbvacomen
What is the most secure
biometric recognition method
(voice veins irishellip)
All the biometric recognition
methods existing today have
advantages and drawbacks ndash
from voice and handwriting
through to irises and the
pattern of veins on the hand
Specifically if were talking
about security this necessarily
implies an attacker who wants
to gain illicit access Before
comparing biometric features
with others in the area of
security we would need to
specify the model of attacker
through questions such as how
does the attack occur how
hard is it for the attacker to
achieve his or her aim The
suitability of one biometric
feature or another will depend
on the application in question
the scenario of use the model
of attacker who wishes to
violate the system and the
resources at his or her disposal
There are several current
developments that aim to
homogenize these models and
come up with a standard for
considering a biometric system
secure and for its level of
security One such is the
Common Criteria initiative to
which our group is contributing
thanks to the European project
BEAT (Biometrics Evaluation
and Testing)
One feature can be compared
with another based on factors
such as usability economic
cost durability and so on All
these factors once the
application and scenario have
been determined will point to
one biometric feature or
another or a combination of
several used in a specific way
and with specific sensors as
being the optimum solution So
an iris recognition system that
has no protection against
falsification using printed iris
images may be less secure than
a verification system using a
handwritten signature
FINTECH SERIE middot FEBRUARY 2016 middot wwwcentrodeinnovacionbbvacomen
What does it contribute to
banks
The banking environment is
one of the areas that can
benefit most from recent
advances in biometric systems
as many of their operations
depend on the reliable
authentication and
management of their
customers identities Biometrics
can vastly reduce costs such as
the use and recording of
information on paper or the
prevention and control of a
whole range of fraud
Specifically biometric systems
allow the identity of a customer
to be modeled both on one-off
inputs (a handwritten
signature) and in an ongoing
way in the medium and long
term (for example with a
keyboard or mouse and pointer
dynamic)
The detection of anomalous
behavior through these models
is a good way of filtering
possible fraud Todays
technology already allows a full
remote relationship with the
customer by making use of
biometric features such as face
and voice recognition for the
ongoing monitoring of the user
or a handwritten signature on a
touch terminal for
authentication with legal
validity The great difference in
this remote scenario compared
to the scenario with a physical
presence lies in the type of
impostor that seeks to violate
the system the cost of the
attacks impact possible
protection)
FINTECH SERIE middot FEBRUARY 2016 middot wwwcentrodeinnovacionbbvacomen
A greater understanding of
these factors is key to the
success of this type of initiatives
in remote operating
environments Much research
is currently being done in this
area and the problem is not
totally resolved Look at the
results of one of the European
projects in which we have also
been working recently TABULA
RASA (Trusted Biometrics
Under Spoofing Attacks) for
example
iquestWhich country is most
advanced in its uptake of
biometrics
All types of countries from the
United States and Japan to
India and China are investing
heavily in the research and
development of these types of
systems as they are aware of
the present and future benefits
these technologies can provide
Not only the governments of
these countries who have
launched programs to fund
research but also companies
like Google Facebook
Microsoft NEC and Fujitsu are
all making a strong
commitment to this type of
technology
FINTECH SERIE middot FEBRUARY 2016 middot wwwcentrodeinnovacionbbvacomen
What sector do you think it
can help most
As I said before the banking
sector has yet to tap into the
substantial advantages offered
by these technologies in recent
years and it has much to gain
from them They can reduce
the costs related with the
management of identities fraud
prevention customer
convenience and the opening
of new customized services
both in person and remotely
Other sectors that will benefit
vastly from developments in
biometrics include distance
learning (students uptake of the
course material can be
monitored and their learning
outcomes can be certified as a
result) e-government
insurance companies notary
services courts medical
registers and health records
and more) In fact any area in
which it is necessary to
authenticate individuals and
subsequently manage these
identities
Are privacy and biometrics
compatible
Yes Most of the current large-
scale developments in
biometric systems are very
aware of the importance of
protecting privacy particularly
in Europe where the legislation
on data protection is clear and
strict
Many of these biometric
systems do not in fact store (on
the biometric template) the
users registration information in
an open way but via encrypted
versions or with very limited
information which ndashin the most
recent developmentsndash are not
even unencrypted for
comparison with other
biometric templates These
techniques for the protection of
biometric templates are in fact
a red-hot issue in research and
an area in which my group at
the UAM is also working
FINTECH SERIE middot FEBRUARY 2016 middot wwwcentrodeinnovacionbbvacomen
Millennials do not intend to go into a branch in their
lives Theyre used to taking out all services online and
want to have the same facility with banks But as
highlighted in the BBVA Research article ldquoDigital
contracting of financial services electronic identity as a
key elementrdquo there is no regulatory framework allowing
banks to remotely verify the identity of new customers
02Banks face the challenge of verifying the identity of new customers
FINTECH SERIE middot FEBRUARY 2016 middot wwwcentrodeinnovacionbbvacomen
While Google Facebook or
Skype need not verify the actual
identity of the person accessing
their services mdash not even
Amazon mdash registering with a
bank is not so easy ldquoThe
regulatory framework affecting
registering customers in the
financial sector is not
completely homogeneous
globally Some countries
prohibit the registration
processes through digital
channels and require a physical
meeting to proceed with
customer identification and
verification of their identity
Moreover in those places
where non face-to-face
contracting is permitted it is
sometimes difficult to establish
mechanisms for verifying
identity in these digital channels
that reveal unequivocally who
the customer is highlights the
Article
In Mexico for example one of
the objectives of the bank in
2016 is to strengthen controls
and in recent months reading
fingerprints has been extended
to identify customers and open
new accounts As highlighted in
this article in El Universal ldquowith
a customers fingerprint and
photograph identity theft is
impossible when the
fingerprints are already
registeredrdquo
The security problem is
growing as highlighted in this
article by BBVA Research
According to the for Strategic
and International Studies (CSIS)
the cost of cybercrime to the
global economy is about $450
billion In addition the
Ponemon Institute reports that
in 2013 43 of US companies
experienced a breach of data
security Individually the
greatest risks are identity theft
and loss of confidential
information The CSIS estimates
that there were 800 million
stolen personal records in the
same year worldwide In South
Korea for example in a
month over 70 of people
aged between 15 and 65 had
their personal data stolen and
their credit cards were put at
risk In the US according to a
2012 survey conducted by the
Bureau of Justice Statistics
phishing affected 166 million
people at a cost of $247
billion in financial losses
FINTECH SERIE middot FEBRUARY 2016 middot wwwcentrodeinnovacionbbvacomen
And how can identification be
guaranteed As highlighted by
BBVA Research The regulatory
framework affecting registering
customers in the financial
sector is not completely
homogeneous globally Some
countries prohibit the
registration processes through
digital channels and require a
physical meeting to proceed
with customer identification
and verification of their identity
Moreover in those places
where non face-to-face
contracting is permitted it is
sometimes difficult to
establish mechanisms for
verifying identity in these
digital channels that reveal
unequivocally who the
customer is highlights the
Article
Returning to Millennials and the
previous generation a survey
by Telstraglobal on generations
X and Y (those born between
1966-1976 and 1977-1994
respectively) indicates that
more than half of respondents
rate trust as the most
important factor of choice
when selecting a financial
services provider One in five
people would share their DNA
to help protect their financial
and personal information and
up to one in two people would
be willing to pay for a mobile
identity In addition less than
half are satisfied with their
institutions security more than
a third have experienced
phishing 40 of victims
believed it was the institutions
fault and 65 is likely to leave
the bank as a consequence of
this
2016 promises to be the
breakout year for biometrics
And banks cannot be left
behind
FINTECH SERIE middot FEBREUAY 2016 middot wwwcentrodeinnovacionbbvacomen
Emilio Martiacutenez CEO of Agnitio the company specializing
in voice biometric systems highlights the benefits of
voiceprints for personal authentication
03INTERVIEW
ldquoPasswords are inconvenient and insecure and their end is in sight
FINTECH SERIE middot FEBRUARY 2016 middot wwwcentrodeinnovacionbbvacomen
How did Agnitio start
AGNITIO started in 2004 as a
spin-off from the Madrid
Polytechnic University A
group of the signal treatment
department had worked for
years with the Guardia Civil
police force to develop a voice
biometric system that would
enable them to identify
criminals and terrorists from
their voices This system was
known from other European
police forces and sparked
considerable interest The
founding members negotiated
a contract with the university
for the transfer of the
technology and thats how
AGNITIO came about
Whats the profile of the
employees
92 of the employees are
engineers or graduates in
areas of advanced technology
This is an extremely
technological company with a
very high component of
R+D+i
How many countries do you
operate in and what sector
interests you most or is most
interested in your services
Agnitio has facilities in over 40
countries around the world
The geographical areas where
we have the greatest presence
are eastern Europe Latin
America and the United States
In the US we have a subsidiary
that sells to and supports our
customers in North America
With regard to market
segments our presence is
above all in the government
security sector (police and
intelligence corps and defense
organizations) followed by the
financial sector
FINTECH SERIE middot FEBRUARY 2016 middot wwwcentrodeinnovacionbbvacomen
be identified with an extremely
high degree of accuracy
Do they use complex and
expensive tools
The system is purely software
In other words the voice can
be recorded with any
microphone and theres no
need for any special IT
processing system Normal
servers and computers are
used Whats complex is the
software for processing the
signal ndashhighly complex
mathematical algorithms
efficiently programmed to
respond in fractions of a
second with todays processors
The cost depends on the size
of the project measured in
number of voiceprints that are
to be used andor the number
of parallel processes that our
technology is going to use
What are the features of
biometric voice verification
When someone speaks as well
as the information they transmit
in the form of words the
unique features of their vocal
tract ndashthe larynx the nasal
cavity the palate and so onndash
make an imprint on the sound
waves This voiceprint is
independent of the language
the person is speaking the
phrases theyre saying or the
individuals state of mind Card
technology is capable of
extracting this information and
storing it in the form of a
numerical ldquovoice imprintrdquo When
an unknown person is speaking
on the phone for example that
voice can be compared with
the stored voiceprint and
allows the person speaking to
FINTECH SERIE middot FEBRUARY 2016 middot wwwcentrodeinnovacionbbvacomen
These systems are not
accessible to individual
consumers because of their
cost but are acquired and
implemented by government
organizations and financial
institutions
How has the technology
advanced in this field
The study of voice biometrics
began in the 1990s but it
wasnt until the beginning of the
21st century that we saw the
first systems that could be
efficiently used The UPM
delivered the prototype of our
forensic identification system to
the Guardia Civil in 2000 Since
then several pioneering
research groups ndashof which we
are proud to be onendash have
gradually improved and
modified the algorithms to
obtain better results Our
products are already now in the
fourth generation of the
technology
Along with the improvements in
accuracy the calculations can
now be done much faster and
with fewer resources Our
earliest call-monitoring systems
with voice biometrics required
fifty times more processors
than they do today
What advantages does it have
compared to other
identification methods
(fingerprints irishellip)
The various biometric models
are not in competition but
complement each other in a
multi-factor authentication
environment When we come
near a person we use all our
FINTECH SERIE middot FEBRUARY 2016 middot wwwcentrodeinnovacionbbvacomen
ldquosensorsrdquo to identify them their
faces their way of walking
their voice and so on In the
same way in the future people
will be automatically identified
using all the possibilities
available on the devices
Sometimes some will be more
important than others Voice is
very important in situations of
remote authentication when
you cant see or touch the
person ndashin telephone
communications for example
Are they more efficient
The sensors needed to make a
voice authentication are
microphones and today we all
carry these around in our
pocket (in our cellphones) or
we have them on our
computer In terms of cost this
makes it much more efficient
than a fingerprint or iris
recognition which needs a
special sensor requiring special
care And its also the most
natural system Everyones used
to talking to speaking on the
phone Its not something thats
considered intrusive unlike
taking a photo of your eye or
taking your fingerprint
Whats more were increasingly
using our voices to interact with
our surroundings In the future
well communicate with a whole
range of devices in our cars
and homes and at work by
using our voices to give
commands and obtain
information Using our same
voice as a way of authenticating
ourselves will become more
natural than using any other
biometric model Well identify
ourselves with the same
phrases we use when we to talk
with virtual assistants
What can it provide for a
bank
Voice biometric applications in
the world of finance are only
just beginning Perhaps the
application with the best return
on investment today is fraud
detection in call centers The
use of ldquoblacklistsrdquo of voices of
people who have committed
fraud can be used to filter
incoming calls This is having a
massive effect on preventingthe
proliferation of organized gangs
who used the call center to
commit fraud or obtain
information with which to
commit fraud through other
channels
FINTECH SERIE middot FEBRUARY 2016 middot wwwcentrodeinnovacionbbvacomen
Voice authentication also
reduces fraud and makes the
user experience on the
telephone or mobile channel
much faster and more user-
friendly
How
Multichannel systems can be
deployed that combine
authentication in the Banks
different channels telephone
mobile Internet video-chat
social networks and so on It
can also be used to sign
documents using the voice
Customers can use their voice
to accept a contract and this
voice converted into a
voiceprint can be used as the
ldquosignaturerdquo for the document
This way a customer can open
a bank account via only the
Internet andor telephone
channel without having to go to
the branch office
Of course many of these
advances must pass through
regulatory filters and be
accompanied by other security
and control systems
In the case of a physical
presence a handwritten
signature is normally used as
authentication when making a
transaction And in many cases
it includes the comparison of an
identity document with a
photograph These procedures
also have their weak points
when the comparison is done
by people who are not expert in
handwriting or in document
recognition As far as I know
theres no comparison of false
positives between physical
presence systems and
biometric models but Im sure
there would be no surprises
and particularly in the case of
very well planned attacks
Is it very difficult to copy a
voice
Voices can be recorded and
reproduced later in attempt to
imitate the legitimate user This
is why the measures to prevent
these recorded attacks (anti-
spoofing in biometric slang) are
very important in any
implementation that does not
involve an agent speaking to
the person on a direct line
Agnitio has several patented
systems that guard against
these attacks using very
sophisticated technology that
detects the
recordingreproduction cycle
and compares it to the direct
use of the voice
It is impossible today to
generate a voice which so
closely resembles someones
voice that it can deceive the
system Both professional
imitators and voice synthesis
systems can easily be detected
by our software
FINTECH SERIE middot FEBRUARY 2016 middot wwwcentrodeinnovacionbbvacomen
Do you believe that man-in-the-middle attacks
are more dangerous for voice systems and is it
easier to obtain a voice sample than one from
another part of the body
MITM attacks are normally related with encrypted
communication between two systems This occurs
in voice biometrics when the communication takes
place via the IP network and not the telephone
channel In these cases protecting the voiceprint
by correctly encrypting it is an additional problem
to be resolved by systems integrators to avoid the
possibility of these voiceprints (and digital or facial
biometrics) being intercepted and changed This is
why voice biometrics ndashin particular encrypted
voiceprints (not the voice itself)ndash is neither more
nor less likely to suffer attack by MITM
However the voice is often used as authentication
via a different channel (out of band authentication)
Using a brief telephone call on a previously agreed
phone number and making the user say a certain
phrase is the most convenient and secure way of
making an out-of-band authentication
FINTECH SERIE middot FEBRUARY 2016 middot wwwcentrodeinnovacionbbvacomen
Will biometric systems do
away with passwords
Im convinced that the end of
passwords is in sight at least as
a basic authentication tool
Companies banks and online
retailers canrsquot go on torturing
their customers by making
them remember secure
passwords that need to be
frequently changed Today an
average user can have as many
as 60 passwords with 20 being
the average in a European
country Some studies indicate
that ten of them are used on a
daily basis And of course to
keep them safe they have to be
long contain uppercase and
lowercase symbols and be
frequently changed Thats
impossible to maintain
Theres no doubt that
biometrics is one of the ways in
which this problem is going to
be resolved It will be assisted
by other security technologies
to ensure that the entire
process is secure and that the
security is sufficiently
dimensioned for the information
its protecting Im convinced
that sooner or later well
perhaps have just a few very
secure passwords that we wont
need to use very often and
which will only be used as
backup systems in extreme
cases
What are the advantages of
biometric verification by voice
compared to passwords
Passwords are impossible to
remember when theyre even
remotely secure And theyre
also easy to steal or find out
They have the worst of both
worlds theyre inconvenient
and not very secure Multimodal
biometric verification is both
convenient for the user and
extremely secure It can be
flexibly adapted to the
environment
FINTECH SERIE middot FEBRUARY 2016 middot wwwcentrodeinnovacionbbvacomen
Which country is the most
advanced
The use of voice biometrics in
governments is more advanced
in Europe than in the United
States for several historic
reasons However the
implementation in the financial
sector is more advanced in the
United States
What are the next challenges
for Agnitio
The most important challenge
for any company at the
forefront of a technology sector
is to stay ahead ndashlike the Queen
of Hearts in Alice in
Wonderland who had to keep
running to stay in the same
place In other words the
challenge is to continue with
the work of research into new
algorithms in order to improve
both the accuracy speed and
the size of the systems Agnitio
is now in the fourth generation
of voice identification
technology Were now working
on the fifth generation which
will be much more robust
against environmental noise
have spectacular improvements
in accuracy in short speech
and be able to learn to
recognize users very fast over
time These are some of the
requirements for authentication
in the cloud services that wersquoll
be seeing on a massive scale in
the coming years
FINTECH SERIE middot FEBRUARY 2016 middot wwwcentrodeinnovacionbbvacomen
The bank and First Direct offer their 15 million customers
biometric banking software for accessing their accounts
online and by phone using their fingerprint or voice
04HSBCs bid forbiometrics
Fifteen million customers identified through their voice and
fingerprints This is the goal set by HSBC which is extending its
bid for biometrics in the United Kingdom HSBC and First Direct
customers who use telephone banking and mobile apps can
access their accounts through a system that checks their voice
and fingerprint The bank believes that the software will help it
address the issue of forgotten passwords
FINTECH SERIE middot FEBRUARY 2016 middot wwwcentrodeinnovacionbbvacomen
Francesca McDonagh HSBCs
retail banking and wealth
management manager
describes the decision as ldquothe
largest deployment of voice-
based biometric security
technology in the United
Kingdomrdquo ldquoThe launch of voice
and touch ID makes it even
easier for customers to access
their bank accounts using the
safest form of password the
bodyrdquo she concludes in this
article published in The
Guardian
First Direct will start registering
customers for voice
identification in the coming
weeks and HSBC will follow suit
in summer Customers who
decide to use this option must
register their ldquovoiceprintrdquo and
will never again have to use a
phone password or PIN
FINTECH SERIE middot FEBRUARY 2016 middot wwwcentrodeinnovacionbbvacomen
The English newspaper mentions other
examples of banks that are embracing
biometrics
Barclays launched its voice recognition software
for its 300000 wealthiest customers in the United
Kingdom in 2013 One year later it said that this
technology had been so successful that it would
extend it to its 12 million retail banking customers
Barclays intends to offer them voice recognition
by the end of this year since ldquoit has been
incredibly popularrdquo among its wealthiest
customers who used to spend 15 minutes
checking their identity and can now do so in
less than ten seconds
Lloyds Banking Group has said that it is
considering including Amazon Echo in its online
banking services a voice-controlled hands-free
device that is only available in the United States
The bank claims that 360000 blind or visually
impaired people in the United Kingdom could
benefit from voice recognition
FINTECH SERIE middot FEBRUARY 2016 middot wwwcentrodeinnovacionbbvacomen
Royal Bank of Scotland says that
touch ID has been a ldquogreat
successrdquo following its launch last
year with over one million
customers now logging in using
their fingerprint
In the United States several banks
have tested biometric technology
and Citi has around 250000
customers who use voice
recognition authentication
Touch ID is available on all Apple
mobile devices for HSBC and First
Direct Customers have to
download the mobile banking app
and follow the instructions for
associating their fingerprint
And yes it works even if you have
a cold Joe Gordon HSBCs
customer contact manager in the
United Kingdom says that voice
recognition works even if you
have a cold In the BBC Today
program he claimed that ldquowe will
be able to deal with people with a
cold or with slight handicaps
Things like the size of our mouth
or the vocal tract dont change
Neither does the rhythm or
accent when a person has a
slight coldrdquo
Nuance Communication is
supplying the voice biometric
technology that cross checks
more than 100 unique
identifiers including behavioral
features such as speed rhythm
and pronunciation and physical
aspects like the shape of the
larynx the nasal tract and the
nasal passage
FINTECH SERIE middot FEBRERY 2016 middot wwwcentrodeinnovacionbbvacomen
According to a YouGov survey
published by HSBC the British
believe that along with voice
and touch the heart beats the
hair and even the saliva could
be used as passwords in the
future According to the survey
38 of people use the same
password for most of their
accounts while 55 say that
they rarely update their
passwords 78 of the 2038
adults surveyed were sure that
their body was the only thing
that could be used as a
password and 74 felt that it
would become the default
password in the future
FINTECH SERIE middot FEBRUARY 2016 middot wwwcentrodeinnovacionbbvacomen
The boom of biometric devices
is gaining momentum
positioning themselves firmly in
the security monitoring and
control solutions market
05INFOGRAPHY
Biometrictechnology
Share in Pinterest
FINTECH SERIE middot FEBRUARY 2016 middot wwwcentrodeinnovacionbbvacomen
Determines an individualacutes
identity The biometric data
are compared against all
the data held in the
database
Confirms an individualacutes
identity by comparing a
simple with one or more
templates obtained
previously
Identification vs Verification
Perceptions of authentication
61
Belive that biometric authentication is
as safe as passwordsWould like to use digital fingerprint
scanning to Access their accounts
40
FINTECH SERIE middot FEBRUARY 2016 middot wwwcentrodeinnovacionbbvacomen
Biometric solutions
Iris
Facerecognition
Voicerecognition
Fingerprint
Signature
Vascular
IrisCaptures an infrared picture of the personacutes eye which isprocessed to obtain the spectral information of the iris
Face recognitionThe faceacutes features are obtained using a low-resolution camera
Voice recognitionThe voiceacutes features are based on the shape and size of the appendages used to creacuteate the sound
FingerprintA map of the fingerprintacutes peaks and troughs is registeredusing optical termal andor ultrasound technology
SignatureRecording of the act of signing on a piece of paper or tablet The movement not the image is recorded
VascularAn infrared image of the skin is taken to detect the veinsand a map of their distribution is obtained
FINTECH SERIE middot FEBRUARY 2016 middot wwwcentrodeinnovacionbbvacomen
Applications on the market
Uses of biometric authentication
Travel17
Electronics20
Banking $ finance25
Government15
Defens12
Others11
Digital print
Fingerprint
Iris
Face recognition
Others
1
30
9
59
1
FINTECH SERIE middot FEBRUARY 2016 middot wwwcentrodeinnovacionbbvacomen
BBVA Innovation Center
creates the Fintech Serie By
Innovation Edge to keep
informed about the financial
innovation trends with its
milestones analysis cases
studie interviews with experts
and infographics to display the
data that describe each of
these trends
SERIEFINTECH BY innovation edge
share
LASTEST ISSUES
Easy quickly and very efficiently
are the keys of personal
management tools (PFM)
The advance of bitcoin and
payments
The takeoff of emerging companies
in a competitive world
A new concept in the world
of lsquostartupsrsquo
Regiacutestratepara estar al diacutea de las uacuteltimas tendencias
centrodeinnovacionbbvacom
centrodeinnovacionbbvacominnovation-edge
siacuteguenos
BBVA no se hace responsable de las opiniones publicadas en este documento
What is the most secure
biometric recognition method
(voice veins irishellip)
All the biometric recognition
methods existing today have
advantages and drawbacks ndash
from voice and handwriting
through to irises and the
pattern of veins on the hand
Specifically if were talking
about security this necessarily
implies an attacker who wants
to gain illicit access Before
comparing biometric features
with others in the area of
security we would need to
specify the model of attacker
through questions such as how
does the attack occur how
hard is it for the attacker to
achieve his or her aim The
suitability of one biometric
feature or another will depend
on the application in question
the scenario of use the model
of attacker who wishes to
violate the system and the
resources at his or her disposal
There are several current
developments that aim to
homogenize these models and
come up with a standard for
considering a biometric system
secure and for its level of
security One such is the
Common Criteria initiative to
which our group is contributing
thanks to the European project
BEAT (Biometrics Evaluation
and Testing)
One feature can be compared
with another based on factors
such as usability economic
cost durability and so on All
these factors once the
application and scenario have
been determined will point to
one biometric feature or
another or a combination of
several used in a specific way
and with specific sensors as
being the optimum solution So
an iris recognition system that
has no protection against
falsification using printed iris
images may be less secure than
a verification system using a
handwritten signature
FINTECH SERIE middot FEBRUARY 2016 middot wwwcentrodeinnovacionbbvacomen
What does it contribute to
banks
The banking environment is
one of the areas that can
benefit most from recent
advances in biometric systems
as many of their operations
depend on the reliable
authentication and
management of their
customers identities Biometrics
can vastly reduce costs such as
the use and recording of
information on paper or the
prevention and control of a
whole range of fraud
Specifically biometric systems
allow the identity of a customer
to be modeled both on one-off
inputs (a handwritten
signature) and in an ongoing
way in the medium and long
term (for example with a
keyboard or mouse and pointer
dynamic)
The detection of anomalous
behavior through these models
is a good way of filtering
possible fraud Todays
technology already allows a full
remote relationship with the
customer by making use of
biometric features such as face
and voice recognition for the
ongoing monitoring of the user
or a handwritten signature on a
touch terminal for
authentication with legal
validity The great difference in
this remote scenario compared
to the scenario with a physical
presence lies in the type of
impostor that seeks to violate
the system the cost of the
attacks impact possible
protection)
FINTECH SERIE middot FEBRUARY 2016 middot wwwcentrodeinnovacionbbvacomen
A greater understanding of
these factors is key to the
success of this type of initiatives
in remote operating
environments Much research
is currently being done in this
area and the problem is not
totally resolved Look at the
results of one of the European
projects in which we have also
been working recently TABULA
RASA (Trusted Biometrics
Under Spoofing Attacks) for
example
iquestWhich country is most
advanced in its uptake of
biometrics
All types of countries from the
United States and Japan to
India and China are investing
heavily in the research and
development of these types of
systems as they are aware of
the present and future benefits
these technologies can provide
Not only the governments of
these countries who have
launched programs to fund
research but also companies
like Google Facebook
Microsoft NEC and Fujitsu are
all making a strong
commitment to this type of
technology
FINTECH SERIE middot FEBRUARY 2016 middot wwwcentrodeinnovacionbbvacomen
What sector do you think it
can help most
As I said before the banking
sector has yet to tap into the
substantial advantages offered
by these technologies in recent
years and it has much to gain
from them They can reduce
the costs related with the
management of identities fraud
prevention customer
convenience and the opening
of new customized services
both in person and remotely
Other sectors that will benefit
vastly from developments in
biometrics include distance
learning (students uptake of the
course material can be
monitored and their learning
outcomes can be certified as a
result) e-government
insurance companies notary
services courts medical
registers and health records
and more) In fact any area in
which it is necessary to
authenticate individuals and
subsequently manage these
identities
Are privacy and biometrics
compatible
Yes Most of the current large-
scale developments in
biometric systems are very
aware of the importance of
protecting privacy particularly
in Europe where the legislation
on data protection is clear and
strict
Many of these biometric
systems do not in fact store (on
the biometric template) the
users registration information in
an open way but via encrypted
versions or with very limited
information which ndashin the most
recent developmentsndash are not
even unencrypted for
comparison with other
biometric templates These
techniques for the protection of
biometric templates are in fact
a red-hot issue in research and
an area in which my group at
the UAM is also working
FINTECH SERIE middot FEBRUARY 2016 middot wwwcentrodeinnovacionbbvacomen
Millennials do not intend to go into a branch in their
lives Theyre used to taking out all services online and
want to have the same facility with banks But as
highlighted in the BBVA Research article ldquoDigital
contracting of financial services electronic identity as a
key elementrdquo there is no regulatory framework allowing
banks to remotely verify the identity of new customers
02Banks face the challenge of verifying the identity of new customers
FINTECH SERIE middot FEBRUARY 2016 middot wwwcentrodeinnovacionbbvacomen
While Google Facebook or
Skype need not verify the actual
identity of the person accessing
their services mdash not even
Amazon mdash registering with a
bank is not so easy ldquoThe
regulatory framework affecting
registering customers in the
financial sector is not
completely homogeneous
globally Some countries
prohibit the registration
processes through digital
channels and require a physical
meeting to proceed with
customer identification and
verification of their identity
Moreover in those places
where non face-to-face
contracting is permitted it is
sometimes difficult to establish
mechanisms for verifying
identity in these digital channels
that reveal unequivocally who
the customer is highlights the
Article
In Mexico for example one of
the objectives of the bank in
2016 is to strengthen controls
and in recent months reading
fingerprints has been extended
to identify customers and open
new accounts As highlighted in
this article in El Universal ldquowith
a customers fingerprint and
photograph identity theft is
impossible when the
fingerprints are already
registeredrdquo
The security problem is
growing as highlighted in this
article by BBVA Research
According to the for Strategic
and International Studies (CSIS)
the cost of cybercrime to the
global economy is about $450
billion In addition the
Ponemon Institute reports that
in 2013 43 of US companies
experienced a breach of data
security Individually the
greatest risks are identity theft
and loss of confidential
information The CSIS estimates
that there were 800 million
stolen personal records in the
same year worldwide In South
Korea for example in a
month over 70 of people
aged between 15 and 65 had
their personal data stolen and
their credit cards were put at
risk In the US according to a
2012 survey conducted by the
Bureau of Justice Statistics
phishing affected 166 million
people at a cost of $247
billion in financial losses
FINTECH SERIE middot FEBRUARY 2016 middot wwwcentrodeinnovacionbbvacomen
And how can identification be
guaranteed As highlighted by
BBVA Research The regulatory
framework affecting registering
customers in the financial
sector is not completely
homogeneous globally Some
countries prohibit the
registration processes through
digital channels and require a
physical meeting to proceed
with customer identification
and verification of their identity
Moreover in those places
where non face-to-face
contracting is permitted it is
sometimes difficult to
establish mechanisms for
verifying identity in these
digital channels that reveal
unequivocally who the
customer is highlights the
Article
Returning to Millennials and the
previous generation a survey
by Telstraglobal on generations
X and Y (those born between
1966-1976 and 1977-1994
respectively) indicates that
more than half of respondents
rate trust as the most
important factor of choice
when selecting a financial
services provider One in five
people would share their DNA
to help protect their financial
and personal information and
up to one in two people would
be willing to pay for a mobile
identity In addition less than
half are satisfied with their
institutions security more than
a third have experienced
phishing 40 of victims
believed it was the institutions
fault and 65 is likely to leave
the bank as a consequence of
this
2016 promises to be the
breakout year for biometrics
And banks cannot be left
behind
FINTECH SERIE middot FEBREUAY 2016 middot wwwcentrodeinnovacionbbvacomen
Emilio Martiacutenez CEO of Agnitio the company specializing
in voice biometric systems highlights the benefits of
voiceprints for personal authentication
03INTERVIEW
ldquoPasswords are inconvenient and insecure and their end is in sight
FINTECH SERIE middot FEBRUARY 2016 middot wwwcentrodeinnovacionbbvacomen
How did Agnitio start
AGNITIO started in 2004 as a
spin-off from the Madrid
Polytechnic University A
group of the signal treatment
department had worked for
years with the Guardia Civil
police force to develop a voice
biometric system that would
enable them to identify
criminals and terrorists from
their voices This system was
known from other European
police forces and sparked
considerable interest The
founding members negotiated
a contract with the university
for the transfer of the
technology and thats how
AGNITIO came about
Whats the profile of the
employees
92 of the employees are
engineers or graduates in
areas of advanced technology
This is an extremely
technological company with a
very high component of
R+D+i
How many countries do you
operate in and what sector
interests you most or is most
interested in your services
Agnitio has facilities in over 40
countries around the world
The geographical areas where
we have the greatest presence
are eastern Europe Latin
America and the United States
In the US we have a subsidiary
that sells to and supports our
customers in North America
With regard to market
segments our presence is
above all in the government
security sector (police and
intelligence corps and defense
organizations) followed by the
financial sector
FINTECH SERIE middot FEBRUARY 2016 middot wwwcentrodeinnovacionbbvacomen
be identified with an extremely
high degree of accuracy
Do they use complex and
expensive tools
The system is purely software
In other words the voice can
be recorded with any
microphone and theres no
need for any special IT
processing system Normal
servers and computers are
used Whats complex is the
software for processing the
signal ndashhighly complex
mathematical algorithms
efficiently programmed to
respond in fractions of a
second with todays processors
The cost depends on the size
of the project measured in
number of voiceprints that are
to be used andor the number
of parallel processes that our
technology is going to use
What are the features of
biometric voice verification
When someone speaks as well
as the information they transmit
in the form of words the
unique features of their vocal
tract ndashthe larynx the nasal
cavity the palate and so onndash
make an imprint on the sound
waves This voiceprint is
independent of the language
the person is speaking the
phrases theyre saying or the
individuals state of mind Card
technology is capable of
extracting this information and
storing it in the form of a
numerical ldquovoice imprintrdquo When
an unknown person is speaking
on the phone for example that
voice can be compared with
the stored voiceprint and
allows the person speaking to
FINTECH SERIE middot FEBRUARY 2016 middot wwwcentrodeinnovacionbbvacomen
These systems are not
accessible to individual
consumers because of their
cost but are acquired and
implemented by government
organizations and financial
institutions
How has the technology
advanced in this field
The study of voice biometrics
began in the 1990s but it
wasnt until the beginning of the
21st century that we saw the
first systems that could be
efficiently used The UPM
delivered the prototype of our
forensic identification system to
the Guardia Civil in 2000 Since
then several pioneering
research groups ndashof which we
are proud to be onendash have
gradually improved and
modified the algorithms to
obtain better results Our
products are already now in the
fourth generation of the
technology
Along with the improvements in
accuracy the calculations can
now be done much faster and
with fewer resources Our
earliest call-monitoring systems
with voice biometrics required
fifty times more processors
than they do today
What advantages does it have
compared to other
identification methods
(fingerprints irishellip)
The various biometric models
are not in competition but
complement each other in a
multi-factor authentication
environment When we come
near a person we use all our
FINTECH SERIE middot FEBRUARY 2016 middot wwwcentrodeinnovacionbbvacomen
ldquosensorsrdquo to identify them their
faces their way of walking
their voice and so on In the
same way in the future people
will be automatically identified
using all the possibilities
available on the devices
Sometimes some will be more
important than others Voice is
very important in situations of
remote authentication when
you cant see or touch the
person ndashin telephone
communications for example
Are they more efficient
The sensors needed to make a
voice authentication are
microphones and today we all
carry these around in our
pocket (in our cellphones) or
we have them on our
computer In terms of cost this
makes it much more efficient
than a fingerprint or iris
recognition which needs a
special sensor requiring special
care And its also the most
natural system Everyones used
to talking to speaking on the
phone Its not something thats
considered intrusive unlike
taking a photo of your eye or
taking your fingerprint
Whats more were increasingly
using our voices to interact with
our surroundings In the future
well communicate with a whole
range of devices in our cars
and homes and at work by
using our voices to give
commands and obtain
information Using our same
voice as a way of authenticating
ourselves will become more
natural than using any other
biometric model Well identify
ourselves with the same
phrases we use when we to talk
with virtual assistants
What can it provide for a
bank
Voice biometric applications in
the world of finance are only
just beginning Perhaps the
application with the best return
on investment today is fraud
detection in call centers The
use of ldquoblacklistsrdquo of voices of
people who have committed
fraud can be used to filter
incoming calls This is having a
massive effect on preventingthe
proliferation of organized gangs
who used the call center to
commit fraud or obtain
information with which to
commit fraud through other
channels
FINTECH SERIE middot FEBRUARY 2016 middot wwwcentrodeinnovacionbbvacomen
Voice authentication also
reduces fraud and makes the
user experience on the
telephone or mobile channel
much faster and more user-
friendly
How
Multichannel systems can be
deployed that combine
authentication in the Banks
different channels telephone
mobile Internet video-chat
social networks and so on It
can also be used to sign
documents using the voice
Customers can use their voice
to accept a contract and this
voice converted into a
voiceprint can be used as the
ldquosignaturerdquo for the document
This way a customer can open
a bank account via only the
Internet andor telephone
channel without having to go to
the branch office
Of course many of these
advances must pass through
regulatory filters and be
accompanied by other security
and control systems
In the case of a physical
presence a handwritten
signature is normally used as
authentication when making a
transaction And in many cases
it includes the comparison of an
identity document with a
photograph These procedures
also have their weak points
when the comparison is done
by people who are not expert in
handwriting or in document
recognition As far as I know
theres no comparison of false
positives between physical
presence systems and
biometric models but Im sure
there would be no surprises
and particularly in the case of
very well planned attacks
Is it very difficult to copy a
voice
Voices can be recorded and
reproduced later in attempt to
imitate the legitimate user This
is why the measures to prevent
these recorded attacks (anti-
spoofing in biometric slang) are
very important in any
implementation that does not
involve an agent speaking to
the person on a direct line
Agnitio has several patented
systems that guard against
these attacks using very
sophisticated technology that
detects the
recordingreproduction cycle
and compares it to the direct
use of the voice
It is impossible today to
generate a voice which so
closely resembles someones
voice that it can deceive the
system Both professional
imitators and voice synthesis
systems can easily be detected
by our software
FINTECH SERIE middot FEBRUARY 2016 middot wwwcentrodeinnovacionbbvacomen
Do you believe that man-in-the-middle attacks
are more dangerous for voice systems and is it
easier to obtain a voice sample than one from
another part of the body
MITM attacks are normally related with encrypted
communication between two systems This occurs
in voice biometrics when the communication takes
place via the IP network and not the telephone
channel In these cases protecting the voiceprint
by correctly encrypting it is an additional problem
to be resolved by systems integrators to avoid the
possibility of these voiceprints (and digital or facial
biometrics) being intercepted and changed This is
why voice biometrics ndashin particular encrypted
voiceprints (not the voice itself)ndash is neither more
nor less likely to suffer attack by MITM
However the voice is often used as authentication
via a different channel (out of band authentication)
Using a brief telephone call on a previously agreed
phone number and making the user say a certain
phrase is the most convenient and secure way of
making an out-of-band authentication
FINTECH SERIE middot FEBRUARY 2016 middot wwwcentrodeinnovacionbbvacomen
Will biometric systems do
away with passwords
Im convinced that the end of
passwords is in sight at least as
a basic authentication tool
Companies banks and online
retailers canrsquot go on torturing
their customers by making
them remember secure
passwords that need to be
frequently changed Today an
average user can have as many
as 60 passwords with 20 being
the average in a European
country Some studies indicate
that ten of them are used on a
daily basis And of course to
keep them safe they have to be
long contain uppercase and
lowercase symbols and be
frequently changed Thats
impossible to maintain
Theres no doubt that
biometrics is one of the ways in
which this problem is going to
be resolved It will be assisted
by other security technologies
to ensure that the entire
process is secure and that the
security is sufficiently
dimensioned for the information
its protecting Im convinced
that sooner or later well
perhaps have just a few very
secure passwords that we wont
need to use very often and
which will only be used as
backup systems in extreme
cases
What are the advantages of
biometric verification by voice
compared to passwords
Passwords are impossible to
remember when theyre even
remotely secure And theyre
also easy to steal or find out
They have the worst of both
worlds theyre inconvenient
and not very secure Multimodal
biometric verification is both
convenient for the user and
extremely secure It can be
flexibly adapted to the
environment
FINTECH SERIE middot FEBRUARY 2016 middot wwwcentrodeinnovacionbbvacomen
Which country is the most
advanced
The use of voice biometrics in
governments is more advanced
in Europe than in the United
States for several historic
reasons However the
implementation in the financial
sector is more advanced in the
United States
What are the next challenges
for Agnitio
The most important challenge
for any company at the
forefront of a technology sector
is to stay ahead ndashlike the Queen
of Hearts in Alice in
Wonderland who had to keep
running to stay in the same
place In other words the
challenge is to continue with
the work of research into new
algorithms in order to improve
both the accuracy speed and
the size of the systems Agnitio
is now in the fourth generation
of voice identification
technology Were now working
on the fifth generation which
will be much more robust
against environmental noise
have spectacular improvements
in accuracy in short speech
and be able to learn to
recognize users very fast over
time These are some of the
requirements for authentication
in the cloud services that wersquoll
be seeing on a massive scale in
the coming years
FINTECH SERIE middot FEBRUARY 2016 middot wwwcentrodeinnovacionbbvacomen
The bank and First Direct offer their 15 million customers
biometric banking software for accessing their accounts
online and by phone using their fingerprint or voice
04HSBCs bid forbiometrics
Fifteen million customers identified through their voice and
fingerprints This is the goal set by HSBC which is extending its
bid for biometrics in the United Kingdom HSBC and First Direct
customers who use telephone banking and mobile apps can
access their accounts through a system that checks their voice
and fingerprint The bank believes that the software will help it
address the issue of forgotten passwords
FINTECH SERIE middot FEBRUARY 2016 middot wwwcentrodeinnovacionbbvacomen
Francesca McDonagh HSBCs
retail banking and wealth
management manager
describes the decision as ldquothe
largest deployment of voice-
based biometric security
technology in the United
Kingdomrdquo ldquoThe launch of voice
and touch ID makes it even
easier for customers to access
their bank accounts using the
safest form of password the
bodyrdquo she concludes in this
article published in The
Guardian
First Direct will start registering
customers for voice
identification in the coming
weeks and HSBC will follow suit
in summer Customers who
decide to use this option must
register their ldquovoiceprintrdquo and
will never again have to use a
phone password or PIN
FINTECH SERIE middot FEBRUARY 2016 middot wwwcentrodeinnovacionbbvacomen
The English newspaper mentions other
examples of banks that are embracing
biometrics
Barclays launched its voice recognition software
for its 300000 wealthiest customers in the United
Kingdom in 2013 One year later it said that this
technology had been so successful that it would
extend it to its 12 million retail banking customers
Barclays intends to offer them voice recognition
by the end of this year since ldquoit has been
incredibly popularrdquo among its wealthiest
customers who used to spend 15 minutes
checking their identity and can now do so in
less than ten seconds
Lloyds Banking Group has said that it is
considering including Amazon Echo in its online
banking services a voice-controlled hands-free
device that is only available in the United States
The bank claims that 360000 blind or visually
impaired people in the United Kingdom could
benefit from voice recognition
FINTECH SERIE middot FEBRUARY 2016 middot wwwcentrodeinnovacionbbvacomen
Royal Bank of Scotland says that
touch ID has been a ldquogreat
successrdquo following its launch last
year with over one million
customers now logging in using
their fingerprint
In the United States several banks
have tested biometric technology
and Citi has around 250000
customers who use voice
recognition authentication
Touch ID is available on all Apple
mobile devices for HSBC and First
Direct Customers have to
download the mobile banking app
and follow the instructions for
associating their fingerprint
And yes it works even if you have
a cold Joe Gordon HSBCs
customer contact manager in the
United Kingdom says that voice
recognition works even if you
have a cold In the BBC Today
program he claimed that ldquowe will
be able to deal with people with a
cold or with slight handicaps
Things like the size of our mouth
or the vocal tract dont change
Neither does the rhythm or
accent when a person has a
slight coldrdquo
Nuance Communication is
supplying the voice biometric
technology that cross checks
more than 100 unique
identifiers including behavioral
features such as speed rhythm
and pronunciation and physical
aspects like the shape of the
larynx the nasal tract and the
nasal passage
FINTECH SERIE middot FEBRERY 2016 middot wwwcentrodeinnovacionbbvacomen
According to a YouGov survey
published by HSBC the British
believe that along with voice
and touch the heart beats the
hair and even the saliva could
be used as passwords in the
future According to the survey
38 of people use the same
password for most of their
accounts while 55 say that
they rarely update their
passwords 78 of the 2038
adults surveyed were sure that
their body was the only thing
that could be used as a
password and 74 felt that it
would become the default
password in the future
FINTECH SERIE middot FEBRUARY 2016 middot wwwcentrodeinnovacionbbvacomen
The boom of biometric devices
is gaining momentum
positioning themselves firmly in
the security monitoring and
control solutions market
05INFOGRAPHY
Biometrictechnology
Share in Pinterest
FINTECH SERIE middot FEBRUARY 2016 middot wwwcentrodeinnovacionbbvacomen
Determines an individualacutes
identity The biometric data
are compared against all
the data held in the
database
Confirms an individualacutes
identity by comparing a
simple with one or more
templates obtained
previously
Identification vs Verification
Perceptions of authentication
61
Belive that biometric authentication is
as safe as passwordsWould like to use digital fingerprint
scanning to Access their accounts
40
FINTECH SERIE middot FEBRUARY 2016 middot wwwcentrodeinnovacionbbvacomen
Biometric solutions
Iris
Facerecognition
Voicerecognition
Fingerprint
Signature
Vascular
IrisCaptures an infrared picture of the personacutes eye which isprocessed to obtain the spectral information of the iris
Face recognitionThe faceacutes features are obtained using a low-resolution camera
Voice recognitionThe voiceacutes features are based on the shape and size of the appendages used to creacuteate the sound
FingerprintA map of the fingerprintacutes peaks and troughs is registeredusing optical termal andor ultrasound technology
SignatureRecording of the act of signing on a piece of paper or tablet The movement not the image is recorded
VascularAn infrared image of the skin is taken to detect the veinsand a map of their distribution is obtained
FINTECH SERIE middot FEBRUARY 2016 middot wwwcentrodeinnovacionbbvacomen
Applications on the market
Uses of biometric authentication
Travel17
Electronics20
Banking $ finance25
Government15
Defens12
Others11
Digital print
Fingerprint
Iris
Face recognition
Others
1
30
9
59
1
FINTECH SERIE middot FEBRUARY 2016 middot wwwcentrodeinnovacionbbvacomen
BBVA Innovation Center
creates the Fintech Serie By
Innovation Edge to keep
informed about the financial
innovation trends with its
milestones analysis cases
studie interviews with experts
and infographics to display the
data that describe each of
these trends
SERIEFINTECH BY innovation edge
share
LASTEST ISSUES
Easy quickly and very efficiently
are the keys of personal
management tools (PFM)
The advance of bitcoin and
payments
The takeoff of emerging companies
in a competitive world
A new concept in the world
of lsquostartupsrsquo
Regiacutestratepara estar al diacutea de las uacuteltimas tendencias
centrodeinnovacionbbvacom
centrodeinnovacionbbvacominnovation-edge
siacuteguenos
BBVA no se hace responsable de las opiniones publicadas en este documento
What does it contribute to
banks
The banking environment is
one of the areas that can
benefit most from recent
advances in biometric systems
as many of their operations
depend on the reliable
authentication and
management of their
customers identities Biometrics
can vastly reduce costs such as
the use and recording of
information on paper or the
prevention and control of a
whole range of fraud
Specifically biometric systems
allow the identity of a customer
to be modeled both on one-off
inputs (a handwritten
signature) and in an ongoing
way in the medium and long
term (for example with a
keyboard or mouse and pointer
dynamic)
The detection of anomalous
behavior through these models
is a good way of filtering
possible fraud Todays
technology already allows a full
remote relationship with the
customer by making use of
biometric features such as face
and voice recognition for the
ongoing monitoring of the user
or a handwritten signature on a
touch terminal for
authentication with legal
validity The great difference in
this remote scenario compared
to the scenario with a physical
presence lies in the type of
impostor that seeks to violate
the system the cost of the
attacks impact possible
protection)
FINTECH SERIE middot FEBRUARY 2016 middot wwwcentrodeinnovacionbbvacomen
A greater understanding of
these factors is key to the
success of this type of initiatives
in remote operating
environments Much research
is currently being done in this
area and the problem is not
totally resolved Look at the
results of one of the European
projects in which we have also
been working recently TABULA
RASA (Trusted Biometrics
Under Spoofing Attacks) for
example
iquestWhich country is most
advanced in its uptake of
biometrics
All types of countries from the
United States and Japan to
India and China are investing
heavily in the research and
development of these types of
systems as they are aware of
the present and future benefits
these technologies can provide
Not only the governments of
these countries who have
launched programs to fund
research but also companies
like Google Facebook
Microsoft NEC and Fujitsu are
all making a strong
commitment to this type of
technology
FINTECH SERIE middot FEBRUARY 2016 middot wwwcentrodeinnovacionbbvacomen
What sector do you think it
can help most
As I said before the banking
sector has yet to tap into the
substantial advantages offered
by these technologies in recent
years and it has much to gain
from them They can reduce
the costs related with the
management of identities fraud
prevention customer
convenience and the opening
of new customized services
both in person and remotely
Other sectors that will benefit
vastly from developments in
biometrics include distance
learning (students uptake of the
course material can be
monitored and their learning
outcomes can be certified as a
result) e-government
insurance companies notary
services courts medical
registers and health records
and more) In fact any area in
which it is necessary to
authenticate individuals and
subsequently manage these
identities
Are privacy and biometrics
compatible
Yes Most of the current large-
scale developments in
biometric systems are very
aware of the importance of
protecting privacy particularly
in Europe where the legislation
on data protection is clear and
strict
Many of these biometric
systems do not in fact store (on
the biometric template) the
users registration information in
an open way but via encrypted
versions or with very limited
information which ndashin the most
recent developmentsndash are not
even unencrypted for
comparison with other
biometric templates These
techniques for the protection of
biometric templates are in fact
a red-hot issue in research and
an area in which my group at
the UAM is also working
FINTECH SERIE middot FEBRUARY 2016 middot wwwcentrodeinnovacionbbvacomen
Millennials do not intend to go into a branch in their
lives Theyre used to taking out all services online and
want to have the same facility with banks But as
highlighted in the BBVA Research article ldquoDigital
contracting of financial services electronic identity as a
key elementrdquo there is no regulatory framework allowing
banks to remotely verify the identity of new customers
02Banks face the challenge of verifying the identity of new customers
FINTECH SERIE middot FEBRUARY 2016 middot wwwcentrodeinnovacionbbvacomen
While Google Facebook or
Skype need not verify the actual
identity of the person accessing
their services mdash not even
Amazon mdash registering with a
bank is not so easy ldquoThe
regulatory framework affecting
registering customers in the
financial sector is not
completely homogeneous
globally Some countries
prohibit the registration
processes through digital
channels and require a physical
meeting to proceed with
customer identification and
verification of their identity
Moreover in those places
where non face-to-face
contracting is permitted it is
sometimes difficult to establish
mechanisms for verifying
identity in these digital channels
that reveal unequivocally who
the customer is highlights the
Article
In Mexico for example one of
the objectives of the bank in
2016 is to strengthen controls
and in recent months reading
fingerprints has been extended
to identify customers and open
new accounts As highlighted in
this article in El Universal ldquowith
a customers fingerprint and
photograph identity theft is
impossible when the
fingerprints are already
registeredrdquo
The security problem is
growing as highlighted in this
article by BBVA Research
According to the for Strategic
and International Studies (CSIS)
the cost of cybercrime to the
global economy is about $450
billion In addition the
Ponemon Institute reports that
in 2013 43 of US companies
experienced a breach of data
security Individually the
greatest risks are identity theft
and loss of confidential
information The CSIS estimates
that there were 800 million
stolen personal records in the
same year worldwide In South
Korea for example in a
month over 70 of people
aged between 15 and 65 had
their personal data stolen and
their credit cards were put at
risk In the US according to a
2012 survey conducted by the
Bureau of Justice Statistics
phishing affected 166 million
people at a cost of $247
billion in financial losses
FINTECH SERIE middot FEBRUARY 2016 middot wwwcentrodeinnovacionbbvacomen
And how can identification be
guaranteed As highlighted by
BBVA Research The regulatory
framework affecting registering
customers in the financial
sector is not completely
homogeneous globally Some
countries prohibit the
registration processes through
digital channels and require a
physical meeting to proceed
with customer identification
and verification of their identity
Moreover in those places
where non face-to-face
contracting is permitted it is
sometimes difficult to
establish mechanisms for
verifying identity in these
digital channels that reveal
unequivocally who the
customer is highlights the
Article
Returning to Millennials and the
previous generation a survey
by Telstraglobal on generations
X and Y (those born between
1966-1976 and 1977-1994
respectively) indicates that
more than half of respondents
rate trust as the most
important factor of choice
when selecting a financial
services provider One in five
people would share their DNA
to help protect their financial
and personal information and
up to one in two people would
be willing to pay for a mobile
identity In addition less than
half are satisfied with their
institutions security more than
a third have experienced
phishing 40 of victims
believed it was the institutions
fault and 65 is likely to leave
the bank as a consequence of
this
2016 promises to be the
breakout year for biometrics
And banks cannot be left
behind
FINTECH SERIE middot FEBREUAY 2016 middot wwwcentrodeinnovacionbbvacomen
Emilio Martiacutenez CEO of Agnitio the company specializing
in voice biometric systems highlights the benefits of
voiceprints for personal authentication
03INTERVIEW
ldquoPasswords are inconvenient and insecure and their end is in sight
FINTECH SERIE middot FEBRUARY 2016 middot wwwcentrodeinnovacionbbvacomen
How did Agnitio start
AGNITIO started in 2004 as a
spin-off from the Madrid
Polytechnic University A
group of the signal treatment
department had worked for
years with the Guardia Civil
police force to develop a voice
biometric system that would
enable them to identify
criminals and terrorists from
their voices This system was
known from other European
police forces and sparked
considerable interest The
founding members negotiated
a contract with the university
for the transfer of the
technology and thats how
AGNITIO came about
Whats the profile of the
employees
92 of the employees are
engineers or graduates in
areas of advanced technology
This is an extremely
technological company with a
very high component of
R+D+i
How many countries do you
operate in and what sector
interests you most or is most
interested in your services
Agnitio has facilities in over 40
countries around the world
The geographical areas where
we have the greatest presence
are eastern Europe Latin
America and the United States
In the US we have a subsidiary
that sells to and supports our
customers in North America
With regard to market
segments our presence is
above all in the government
security sector (police and
intelligence corps and defense
organizations) followed by the
financial sector
FINTECH SERIE middot FEBRUARY 2016 middot wwwcentrodeinnovacionbbvacomen
be identified with an extremely
high degree of accuracy
Do they use complex and
expensive tools
The system is purely software
In other words the voice can
be recorded with any
microphone and theres no
need for any special IT
processing system Normal
servers and computers are
used Whats complex is the
software for processing the
signal ndashhighly complex
mathematical algorithms
efficiently programmed to
respond in fractions of a
second with todays processors
The cost depends on the size
of the project measured in
number of voiceprints that are
to be used andor the number
of parallel processes that our
technology is going to use
What are the features of
biometric voice verification
When someone speaks as well
as the information they transmit
in the form of words the
unique features of their vocal
tract ndashthe larynx the nasal
cavity the palate and so onndash
make an imprint on the sound
waves This voiceprint is
independent of the language
the person is speaking the
phrases theyre saying or the
individuals state of mind Card
technology is capable of
extracting this information and
storing it in the form of a
numerical ldquovoice imprintrdquo When
an unknown person is speaking
on the phone for example that
voice can be compared with
the stored voiceprint and
allows the person speaking to
FINTECH SERIE middot FEBRUARY 2016 middot wwwcentrodeinnovacionbbvacomen
These systems are not
accessible to individual
consumers because of their
cost but are acquired and
implemented by government
organizations and financial
institutions
How has the technology
advanced in this field
The study of voice biometrics
began in the 1990s but it
wasnt until the beginning of the
21st century that we saw the
first systems that could be
efficiently used The UPM
delivered the prototype of our
forensic identification system to
the Guardia Civil in 2000 Since
then several pioneering
research groups ndashof which we
are proud to be onendash have
gradually improved and
modified the algorithms to
obtain better results Our
products are already now in the
fourth generation of the
technology
Along with the improvements in
accuracy the calculations can
now be done much faster and
with fewer resources Our
earliest call-monitoring systems
with voice biometrics required
fifty times more processors
than they do today
What advantages does it have
compared to other
identification methods
(fingerprints irishellip)
The various biometric models
are not in competition but
complement each other in a
multi-factor authentication
environment When we come
near a person we use all our
FINTECH SERIE middot FEBRUARY 2016 middot wwwcentrodeinnovacionbbvacomen
ldquosensorsrdquo to identify them their
faces their way of walking
their voice and so on In the
same way in the future people
will be automatically identified
using all the possibilities
available on the devices
Sometimes some will be more
important than others Voice is
very important in situations of
remote authentication when
you cant see or touch the
person ndashin telephone
communications for example
Are they more efficient
The sensors needed to make a
voice authentication are
microphones and today we all
carry these around in our
pocket (in our cellphones) or
we have them on our
computer In terms of cost this
makes it much more efficient
than a fingerprint or iris
recognition which needs a
special sensor requiring special
care And its also the most
natural system Everyones used
to talking to speaking on the
phone Its not something thats
considered intrusive unlike
taking a photo of your eye or
taking your fingerprint
Whats more were increasingly
using our voices to interact with
our surroundings In the future
well communicate with a whole
range of devices in our cars
and homes and at work by
using our voices to give
commands and obtain
information Using our same
voice as a way of authenticating
ourselves will become more
natural than using any other
biometric model Well identify
ourselves with the same
phrases we use when we to talk
with virtual assistants
What can it provide for a
bank
Voice biometric applications in
the world of finance are only
just beginning Perhaps the
application with the best return
on investment today is fraud
detection in call centers The
use of ldquoblacklistsrdquo of voices of
people who have committed
fraud can be used to filter
incoming calls This is having a
massive effect on preventingthe
proliferation of organized gangs
who used the call center to
commit fraud or obtain
information with which to
commit fraud through other
channels
FINTECH SERIE middot FEBRUARY 2016 middot wwwcentrodeinnovacionbbvacomen
Voice authentication also
reduces fraud and makes the
user experience on the
telephone or mobile channel
much faster and more user-
friendly
How
Multichannel systems can be
deployed that combine
authentication in the Banks
different channels telephone
mobile Internet video-chat
social networks and so on It
can also be used to sign
documents using the voice
Customers can use their voice
to accept a contract and this
voice converted into a
voiceprint can be used as the
ldquosignaturerdquo for the document
This way a customer can open
a bank account via only the
Internet andor telephone
channel without having to go to
the branch office
Of course many of these
advances must pass through
regulatory filters and be
accompanied by other security
and control systems
In the case of a physical
presence a handwritten
signature is normally used as
authentication when making a
transaction And in many cases
it includes the comparison of an
identity document with a
photograph These procedures
also have their weak points
when the comparison is done
by people who are not expert in
handwriting or in document
recognition As far as I know
theres no comparison of false
positives between physical
presence systems and
biometric models but Im sure
there would be no surprises
and particularly in the case of
very well planned attacks
Is it very difficult to copy a
voice
Voices can be recorded and
reproduced later in attempt to
imitate the legitimate user This
is why the measures to prevent
these recorded attacks (anti-
spoofing in biometric slang) are
very important in any
implementation that does not
involve an agent speaking to
the person on a direct line
Agnitio has several patented
systems that guard against
these attacks using very
sophisticated technology that
detects the
recordingreproduction cycle
and compares it to the direct
use of the voice
It is impossible today to
generate a voice which so
closely resembles someones
voice that it can deceive the
system Both professional
imitators and voice synthesis
systems can easily be detected
by our software
FINTECH SERIE middot FEBRUARY 2016 middot wwwcentrodeinnovacionbbvacomen
Do you believe that man-in-the-middle attacks
are more dangerous for voice systems and is it
easier to obtain a voice sample than one from
another part of the body
MITM attacks are normally related with encrypted
communication between two systems This occurs
in voice biometrics when the communication takes
place via the IP network and not the telephone
channel In these cases protecting the voiceprint
by correctly encrypting it is an additional problem
to be resolved by systems integrators to avoid the
possibility of these voiceprints (and digital or facial
biometrics) being intercepted and changed This is
why voice biometrics ndashin particular encrypted
voiceprints (not the voice itself)ndash is neither more
nor less likely to suffer attack by MITM
However the voice is often used as authentication
via a different channel (out of band authentication)
Using a brief telephone call on a previously agreed
phone number and making the user say a certain
phrase is the most convenient and secure way of
making an out-of-band authentication
FINTECH SERIE middot FEBRUARY 2016 middot wwwcentrodeinnovacionbbvacomen
Will biometric systems do
away with passwords
Im convinced that the end of
passwords is in sight at least as
a basic authentication tool
Companies banks and online
retailers canrsquot go on torturing
their customers by making
them remember secure
passwords that need to be
frequently changed Today an
average user can have as many
as 60 passwords with 20 being
the average in a European
country Some studies indicate
that ten of them are used on a
daily basis And of course to
keep them safe they have to be
long contain uppercase and
lowercase symbols and be
frequently changed Thats
impossible to maintain
Theres no doubt that
biometrics is one of the ways in
which this problem is going to
be resolved It will be assisted
by other security technologies
to ensure that the entire
process is secure and that the
security is sufficiently
dimensioned for the information
its protecting Im convinced
that sooner or later well
perhaps have just a few very
secure passwords that we wont
need to use very often and
which will only be used as
backup systems in extreme
cases
What are the advantages of
biometric verification by voice
compared to passwords
Passwords are impossible to
remember when theyre even
remotely secure And theyre
also easy to steal or find out
They have the worst of both
worlds theyre inconvenient
and not very secure Multimodal
biometric verification is both
convenient for the user and
extremely secure It can be
flexibly adapted to the
environment
FINTECH SERIE middot FEBRUARY 2016 middot wwwcentrodeinnovacionbbvacomen
Which country is the most
advanced
The use of voice biometrics in
governments is more advanced
in Europe than in the United
States for several historic
reasons However the
implementation in the financial
sector is more advanced in the
United States
What are the next challenges
for Agnitio
The most important challenge
for any company at the
forefront of a technology sector
is to stay ahead ndashlike the Queen
of Hearts in Alice in
Wonderland who had to keep
running to stay in the same
place In other words the
challenge is to continue with
the work of research into new
algorithms in order to improve
both the accuracy speed and
the size of the systems Agnitio
is now in the fourth generation
of voice identification
technology Were now working
on the fifth generation which
will be much more robust
against environmental noise
have spectacular improvements
in accuracy in short speech
and be able to learn to
recognize users very fast over
time These are some of the
requirements for authentication
in the cloud services that wersquoll
be seeing on a massive scale in
the coming years
FINTECH SERIE middot FEBRUARY 2016 middot wwwcentrodeinnovacionbbvacomen
The bank and First Direct offer their 15 million customers
biometric banking software for accessing their accounts
online and by phone using their fingerprint or voice
04HSBCs bid forbiometrics
Fifteen million customers identified through their voice and
fingerprints This is the goal set by HSBC which is extending its
bid for biometrics in the United Kingdom HSBC and First Direct
customers who use telephone banking and mobile apps can
access their accounts through a system that checks their voice
and fingerprint The bank believes that the software will help it
address the issue of forgotten passwords
FINTECH SERIE middot FEBRUARY 2016 middot wwwcentrodeinnovacionbbvacomen
Francesca McDonagh HSBCs
retail banking and wealth
management manager
describes the decision as ldquothe
largest deployment of voice-
based biometric security
technology in the United
Kingdomrdquo ldquoThe launch of voice
and touch ID makes it even
easier for customers to access
their bank accounts using the
safest form of password the
bodyrdquo she concludes in this
article published in The
Guardian
First Direct will start registering
customers for voice
identification in the coming
weeks and HSBC will follow suit
in summer Customers who
decide to use this option must
register their ldquovoiceprintrdquo and
will never again have to use a
phone password or PIN
FINTECH SERIE middot FEBRUARY 2016 middot wwwcentrodeinnovacionbbvacomen
The English newspaper mentions other
examples of banks that are embracing
biometrics
Barclays launched its voice recognition software
for its 300000 wealthiest customers in the United
Kingdom in 2013 One year later it said that this
technology had been so successful that it would
extend it to its 12 million retail banking customers
Barclays intends to offer them voice recognition
by the end of this year since ldquoit has been
incredibly popularrdquo among its wealthiest
customers who used to spend 15 minutes
checking their identity and can now do so in
less than ten seconds
Lloyds Banking Group has said that it is
considering including Amazon Echo in its online
banking services a voice-controlled hands-free
device that is only available in the United States
The bank claims that 360000 blind or visually
impaired people in the United Kingdom could
benefit from voice recognition
FINTECH SERIE middot FEBRUARY 2016 middot wwwcentrodeinnovacionbbvacomen
Royal Bank of Scotland says that
touch ID has been a ldquogreat
successrdquo following its launch last
year with over one million
customers now logging in using
their fingerprint
In the United States several banks
have tested biometric technology
and Citi has around 250000
customers who use voice
recognition authentication
Touch ID is available on all Apple
mobile devices for HSBC and First
Direct Customers have to
download the mobile banking app
and follow the instructions for
associating their fingerprint
And yes it works even if you have
a cold Joe Gordon HSBCs
customer contact manager in the
United Kingdom says that voice
recognition works even if you
have a cold In the BBC Today
program he claimed that ldquowe will
be able to deal with people with a
cold or with slight handicaps
Things like the size of our mouth
or the vocal tract dont change
Neither does the rhythm or
accent when a person has a
slight coldrdquo
Nuance Communication is
supplying the voice biometric
technology that cross checks
more than 100 unique
identifiers including behavioral
features such as speed rhythm
and pronunciation and physical
aspects like the shape of the
larynx the nasal tract and the
nasal passage
FINTECH SERIE middot FEBRERY 2016 middot wwwcentrodeinnovacionbbvacomen
According to a YouGov survey
published by HSBC the British
believe that along with voice
and touch the heart beats the
hair and even the saliva could
be used as passwords in the
future According to the survey
38 of people use the same
password for most of their
accounts while 55 say that
they rarely update their
passwords 78 of the 2038
adults surveyed were sure that
their body was the only thing
that could be used as a
password and 74 felt that it
would become the default
password in the future
FINTECH SERIE middot FEBRUARY 2016 middot wwwcentrodeinnovacionbbvacomen
The boom of biometric devices
is gaining momentum
positioning themselves firmly in
the security monitoring and
control solutions market
05INFOGRAPHY
Biometrictechnology
Share in Pinterest
FINTECH SERIE middot FEBRUARY 2016 middot wwwcentrodeinnovacionbbvacomen
Determines an individualacutes
identity The biometric data
are compared against all
the data held in the
database
Confirms an individualacutes
identity by comparing a
simple with one or more
templates obtained
previously
Identification vs Verification
Perceptions of authentication
61
Belive that biometric authentication is
as safe as passwordsWould like to use digital fingerprint
scanning to Access their accounts
40
FINTECH SERIE middot FEBRUARY 2016 middot wwwcentrodeinnovacionbbvacomen
Biometric solutions
Iris
Facerecognition
Voicerecognition
Fingerprint
Signature
Vascular
IrisCaptures an infrared picture of the personacutes eye which isprocessed to obtain the spectral information of the iris
Face recognitionThe faceacutes features are obtained using a low-resolution camera
Voice recognitionThe voiceacutes features are based on the shape and size of the appendages used to creacuteate the sound
FingerprintA map of the fingerprintacutes peaks and troughs is registeredusing optical termal andor ultrasound technology
SignatureRecording of the act of signing on a piece of paper or tablet The movement not the image is recorded
VascularAn infrared image of the skin is taken to detect the veinsand a map of their distribution is obtained
FINTECH SERIE middot FEBRUARY 2016 middot wwwcentrodeinnovacionbbvacomen
Applications on the market
Uses of biometric authentication
Travel17
Electronics20
Banking $ finance25
Government15
Defens12
Others11
Digital print
Fingerprint
Iris
Face recognition
Others
1
30
9
59
1
FINTECH SERIE middot FEBRUARY 2016 middot wwwcentrodeinnovacionbbvacomen
BBVA Innovation Center
creates the Fintech Serie By
Innovation Edge to keep
informed about the financial
innovation trends with its
milestones analysis cases
studie interviews with experts
and infographics to display the
data that describe each of
these trends
SERIEFINTECH BY innovation edge
share
LASTEST ISSUES
Easy quickly and very efficiently
are the keys of personal
management tools (PFM)
The advance of bitcoin and
payments
The takeoff of emerging companies
in a competitive world
A new concept in the world
of lsquostartupsrsquo
Regiacutestratepara estar al diacutea de las uacuteltimas tendencias
centrodeinnovacionbbvacom
centrodeinnovacionbbvacominnovation-edge
siacuteguenos
BBVA no se hace responsable de las opiniones publicadas en este documento
A greater understanding of
these factors is key to the
success of this type of initiatives
in remote operating
environments Much research
is currently being done in this
area and the problem is not
totally resolved Look at the
results of one of the European
projects in which we have also
been working recently TABULA
RASA (Trusted Biometrics
Under Spoofing Attacks) for
example
iquestWhich country is most
advanced in its uptake of
biometrics
All types of countries from the
United States and Japan to
India and China are investing
heavily in the research and
development of these types of
systems as they are aware of
the present and future benefits
these technologies can provide
Not only the governments of
these countries who have
launched programs to fund
research but also companies
like Google Facebook
Microsoft NEC and Fujitsu are
all making a strong
commitment to this type of
technology
FINTECH SERIE middot FEBRUARY 2016 middot wwwcentrodeinnovacionbbvacomen
What sector do you think it
can help most
As I said before the banking
sector has yet to tap into the
substantial advantages offered
by these technologies in recent
years and it has much to gain
from them They can reduce
the costs related with the
management of identities fraud
prevention customer
convenience and the opening
of new customized services
both in person and remotely
Other sectors that will benefit
vastly from developments in
biometrics include distance
learning (students uptake of the
course material can be
monitored and their learning
outcomes can be certified as a
result) e-government
insurance companies notary
services courts medical
registers and health records
and more) In fact any area in
which it is necessary to
authenticate individuals and
subsequently manage these
identities
Are privacy and biometrics
compatible
Yes Most of the current large-
scale developments in
biometric systems are very
aware of the importance of
protecting privacy particularly
in Europe where the legislation
on data protection is clear and
strict
Many of these biometric
systems do not in fact store (on
the biometric template) the
users registration information in
an open way but via encrypted
versions or with very limited
information which ndashin the most
recent developmentsndash are not
even unencrypted for
comparison with other
biometric templates These
techniques for the protection of
biometric templates are in fact
a red-hot issue in research and
an area in which my group at
the UAM is also working
FINTECH SERIE middot FEBRUARY 2016 middot wwwcentrodeinnovacionbbvacomen
Millennials do not intend to go into a branch in their
lives Theyre used to taking out all services online and
want to have the same facility with banks But as
highlighted in the BBVA Research article ldquoDigital
contracting of financial services electronic identity as a
key elementrdquo there is no regulatory framework allowing
banks to remotely verify the identity of new customers
02Banks face the challenge of verifying the identity of new customers
FINTECH SERIE middot FEBRUARY 2016 middot wwwcentrodeinnovacionbbvacomen
While Google Facebook or
Skype need not verify the actual
identity of the person accessing
their services mdash not even
Amazon mdash registering with a
bank is not so easy ldquoThe
regulatory framework affecting
registering customers in the
financial sector is not
completely homogeneous
globally Some countries
prohibit the registration
processes through digital
channels and require a physical
meeting to proceed with
customer identification and
verification of their identity
Moreover in those places
where non face-to-face
contracting is permitted it is
sometimes difficult to establish
mechanisms for verifying
identity in these digital channels
that reveal unequivocally who
the customer is highlights the
Article
In Mexico for example one of
the objectives of the bank in
2016 is to strengthen controls
and in recent months reading
fingerprints has been extended
to identify customers and open
new accounts As highlighted in
this article in El Universal ldquowith
a customers fingerprint and
photograph identity theft is
impossible when the
fingerprints are already
registeredrdquo
The security problem is
growing as highlighted in this
article by BBVA Research
According to the for Strategic
and International Studies (CSIS)
the cost of cybercrime to the
global economy is about $450
billion In addition the
Ponemon Institute reports that
in 2013 43 of US companies
experienced a breach of data
security Individually the
greatest risks are identity theft
and loss of confidential
information The CSIS estimates
that there were 800 million
stolen personal records in the
same year worldwide In South
Korea for example in a
month over 70 of people
aged between 15 and 65 had
their personal data stolen and
their credit cards were put at
risk In the US according to a
2012 survey conducted by the
Bureau of Justice Statistics
phishing affected 166 million
people at a cost of $247
billion in financial losses
FINTECH SERIE middot FEBRUARY 2016 middot wwwcentrodeinnovacionbbvacomen
And how can identification be
guaranteed As highlighted by
BBVA Research The regulatory
framework affecting registering
customers in the financial
sector is not completely
homogeneous globally Some
countries prohibit the
registration processes through
digital channels and require a
physical meeting to proceed
with customer identification
and verification of their identity
Moreover in those places
where non face-to-face
contracting is permitted it is
sometimes difficult to
establish mechanisms for
verifying identity in these
digital channels that reveal
unequivocally who the
customer is highlights the
Article
Returning to Millennials and the
previous generation a survey
by Telstraglobal on generations
X and Y (those born between
1966-1976 and 1977-1994
respectively) indicates that
more than half of respondents
rate trust as the most
important factor of choice
when selecting a financial
services provider One in five
people would share their DNA
to help protect their financial
and personal information and
up to one in two people would
be willing to pay for a mobile
identity In addition less than
half are satisfied with their
institutions security more than
a third have experienced
phishing 40 of victims
believed it was the institutions
fault and 65 is likely to leave
the bank as a consequence of
this
2016 promises to be the
breakout year for biometrics
And banks cannot be left
behind
FINTECH SERIE middot FEBREUAY 2016 middot wwwcentrodeinnovacionbbvacomen
Emilio Martiacutenez CEO of Agnitio the company specializing
in voice biometric systems highlights the benefits of
voiceprints for personal authentication
03INTERVIEW
ldquoPasswords are inconvenient and insecure and their end is in sight
FINTECH SERIE middot FEBRUARY 2016 middot wwwcentrodeinnovacionbbvacomen
How did Agnitio start
AGNITIO started in 2004 as a
spin-off from the Madrid
Polytechnic University A
group of the signal treatment
department had worked for
years with the Guardia Civil
police force to develop a voice
biometric system that would
enable them to identify
criminals and terrorists from
their voices This system was
known from other European
police forces and sparked
considerable interest The
founding members negotiated
a contract with the university
for the transfer of the
technology and thats how
AGNITIO came about
Whats the profile of the
employees
92 of the employees are
engineers or graduates in
areas of advanced technology
This is an extremely
technological company with a
very high component of
R+D+i
How many countries do you
operate in and what sector
interests you most or is most
interested in your services
Agnitio has facilities in over 40
countries around the world
The geographical areas where
we have the greatest presence
are eastern Europe Latin
America and the United States
In the US we have a subsidiary
that sells to and supports our
customers in North America
With regard to market
segments our presence is
above all in the government
security sector (police and
intelligence corps and defense
organizations) followed by the
financial sector
FINTECH SERIE middot FEBRUARY 2016 middot wwwcentrodeinnovacionbbvacomen
be identified with an extremely
high degree of accuracy
Do they use complex and
expensive tools
The system is purely software
In other words the voice can
be recorded with any
microphone and theres no
need for any special IT
processing system Normal
servers and computers are
used Whats complex is the
software for processing the
signal ndashhighly complex
mathematical algorithms
efficiently programmed to
respond in fractions of a
second with todays processors
The cost depends on the size
of the project measured in
number of voiceprints that are
to be used andor the number
of parallel processes that our
technology is going to use
What are the features of
biometric voice verification
When someone speaks as well
as the information they transmit
in the form of words the
unique features of their vocal
tract ndashthe larynx the nasal
cavity the palate and so onndash
make an imprint on the sound
waves This voiceprint is
independent of the language
the person is speaking the
phrases theyre saying or the
individuals state of mind Card
technology is capable of
extracting this information and
storing it in the form of a
numerical ldquovoice imprintrdquo When
an unknown person is speaking
on the phone for example that
voice can be compared with
the stored voiceprint and
allows the person speaking to
FINTECH SERIE middot FEBRUARY 2016 middot wwwcentrodeinnovacionbbvacomen
These systems are not
accessible to individual
consumers because of their
cost but are acquired and
implemented by government
organizations and financial
institutions
How has the technology
advanced in this field
The study of voice biometrics
began in the 1990s but it
wasnt until the beginning of the
21st century that we saw the
first systems that could be
efficiently used The UPM
delivered the prototype of our
forensic identification system to
the Guardia Civil in 2000 Since
then several pioneering
research groups ndashof which we
are proud to be onendash have
gradually improved and
modified the algorithms to
obtain better results Our
products are already now in the
fourth generation of the
technology
Along with the improvements in
accuracy the calculations can
now be done much faster and
with fewer resources Our
earliest call-monitoring systems
with voice biometrics required
fifty times more processors
than they do today
What advantages does it have
compared to other
identification methods
(fingerprints irishellip)
The various biometric models
are not in competition but
complement each other in a
multi-factor authentication
environment When we come
near a person we use all our
FINTECH SERIE middot FEBRUARY 2016 middot wwwcentrodeinnovacionbbvacomen
ldquosensorsrdquo to identify them their
faces their way of walking
their voice and so on In the
same way in the future people
will be automatically identified
using all the possibilities
available on the devices
Sometimes some will be more
important than others Voice is
very important in situations of
remote authentication when
you cant see or touch the
person ndashin telephone
communications for example
Are they more efficient
The sensors needed to make a
voice authentication are
microphones and today we all
carry these around in our
pocket (in our cellphones) or
we have them on our
computer In terms of cost this
makes it much more efficient
than a fingerprint or iris
recognition which needs a
special sensor requiring special
care And its also the most
natural system Everyones used
to talking to speaking on the
phone Its not something thats
considered intrusive unlike
taking a photo of your eye or
taking your fingerprint
Whats more were increasingly
using our voices to interact with
our surroundings In the future
well communicate with a whole
range of devices in our cars
and homes and at work by
using our voices to give
commands and obtain
information Using our same
voice as a way of authenticating
ourselves will become more
natural than using any other
biometric model Well identify
ourselves with the same
phrases we use when we to talk
with virtual assistants
What can it provide for a
bank
Voice biometric applications in
the world of finance are only
just beginning Perhaps the
application with the best return
on investment today is fraud
detection in call centers The
use of ldquoblacklistsrdquo of voices of
people who have committed
fraud can be used to filter
incoming calls This is having a
massive effect on preventingthe
proliferation of organized gangs
who used the call center to
commit fraud or obtain
information with which to
commit fraud through other
channels
FINTECH SERIE middot FEBRUARY 2016 middot wwwcentrodeinnovacionbbvacomen
Voice authentication also
reduces fraud and makes the
user experience on the
telephone or mobile channel
much faster and more user-
friendly
How
Multichannel systems can be
deployed that combine
authentication in the Banks
different channels telephone
mobile Internet video-chat
social networks and so on It
can also be used to sign
documents using the voice
Customers can use their voice
to accept a contract and this
voice converted into a
voiceprint can be used as the
ldquosignaturerdquo for the document
This way a customer can open
a bank account via only the
Internet andor telephone
channel without having to go to
the branch office
Of course many of these
advances must pass through
regulatory filters and be
accompanied by other security
and control systems
In the case of a physical
presence a handwritten
signature is normally used as
authentication when making a
transaction And in many cases
it includes the comparison of an
identity document with a
photograph These procedures
also have their weak points
when the comparison is done
by people who are not expert in
handwriting or in document
recognition As far as I know
theres no comparison of false
positives between physical
presence systems and
biometric models but Im sure
there would be no surprises
and particularly in the case of
very well planned attacks
Is it very difficult to copy a
voice
Voices can be recorded and
reproduced later in attempt to
imitate the legitimate user This
is why the measures to prevent
these recorded attacks (anti-
spoofing in biometric slang) are
very important in any
implementation that does not
involve an agent speaking to
the person on a direct line
Agnitio has several patented
systems that guard against
these attacks using very
sophisticated technology that
detects the
recordingreproduction cycle
and compares it to the direct
use of the voice
It is impossible today to
generate a voice which so
closely resembles someones
voice that it can deceive the
system Both professional
imitators and voice synthesis
systems can easily be detected
by our software
FINTECH SERIE middot FEBRUARY 2016 middot wwwcentrodeinnovacionbbvacomen
Do you believe that man-in-the-middle attacks
are more dangerous for voice systems and is it
easier to obtain a voice sample than one from
another part of the body
MITM attacks are normally related with encrypted
communication between two systems This occurs
in voice biometrics when the communication takes
place via the IP network and not the telephone
channel In these cases protecting the voiceprint
by correctly encrypting it is an additional problem
to be resolved by systems integrators to avoid the
possibility of these voiceprints (and digital or facial
biometrics) being intercepted and changed This is
why voice biometrics ndashin particular encrypted
voiceprints (not the voice itself)ndash is neither more
nor less likely to suffer attack by MITM
However the voice is often used as authentication
via a different channel (out of band authentication)
Using a brief telephone call on a previously agreed
phone number and making the user say a certain
phrase is the most convenient and secure way of
making an out-of-band authentication
FINTECH SERIE middot FEBRUARY 2016 middot wwwcentrodeinnovacionbbvacomen
Will biometric systems do
away with passwords
Im convinced that the end of
passwords is in sight at least as
a basic authentication tool
Companies banks and online
retailers canrsquot go on torturing
their customers by making
them remember secure
passwords that need to be
frequently changed Today an
average user can have as many
as 60 passwords with 20 being
the average in a European
country Some studies indicate
that ten of them are used on a
daily basis And of course to
keep them safe they have to be
long contain uppercase and
lowercase symbols and be
frequently changed Thats
impossible to maintain
Theres no doubt that
biometrics is one of the ways in
which this problem is going to
be resolved It will be assisted
by other security technologies
to ensure that the entire
process is secure and that the
security is sufficiently
dimensioned for the information
its protecting Im convinced
that sooner or later well
perhaps have just a few very
secure passwords that we wont
need to use very often and
which will only be used as
backup systems in extreme
cases
What are the advantages of
biometric verification by voice
compared to passwords
Passwords are impossible to
remember when theyre even
remotely secure And theyre
also easy to steal or find out
They have the worst of both
worlds theyre inconvenient
and not very secure Multimodal
biometric verification is both
convenient for the user and
extremely secure It can be
flexibly adapted to the
environment
FINTECH SERIE middot FEBRUARY 2016 middot wwwcentrodeinnovacionbbvacomen
Which country is the most
advanced
The use of voice biometrics in
governments is more advanced
in Europe than in the United
States for several historic
reasons However the
implementation in the financial
sector is more advanced in the
United States
What are the next challenges
for Agnitio
The most important challenge
for any company at the
forefront of a technology sector
is to stay ahead ndashlike the Queen
of Hearts in Alice in
Wonderland who had to keep
running to stay in the same
place In other words the
challenge is to continue with
the work of research into new
algorithms in order to improve
both the accuracy speed and
the size of the systems Agnitio
is now in the fourth generation
of voice identification
technology Were now working
on the fifth generation which
will be much more robust
against environmental noise
have spectacular improvements
in accuracy in short speech
and be able to learn to
recognize users very fast over
time These are some of the
requirements for authentication
in the cloud services that wersquoll
be seeing on a massive scale in
the coming years
FINTECH SERIE middot FEBRUARY 2016 middot wwwcentrodeinnovacionbbvacomen
The bank and First Direct offer their 15 million customers
biometric banking software for accessing their accounts
online and by phone using their fingerprint or voice
04HSBCs bid forbiometrics
Fifteen million customers identified through their voice and
fingerprints This is the goal set by HSBC which is extending its
bid for biometrics in the United Kingdom HSBC and First Direct
customers who use telephone banking and mobile apps can
access their accounts through a system that checks their voice
and fingerprint The bank believes that the software will help it
address the issue of forgotten passwords
FINTECH SERIE middot FEBRUARY 2016 middot wwwcentrodeinnovacionbbvacomen
Francesca McDonagh HSBCs
retail banking and wealth
management manager
describes the decision as ldquothe
largest deployment of voice-
based biometric security
technology in the United
Kingdomrdquo ldquoThe launch of voice
and touch ID makes it even
easier for customers to access
their bank accounts using the
safest form of password the
bodyrdquo she concludes in this
article published in The
Guardian
First Direct will start registering
customers for voice
identification in the coming
weeks and HSBC will follow suit
in summer Customers who
decide to use this option must
register their ldquovoiceprintrdquo and
will never again have to use a
phone password or PIN
FINTECH SERIE middot FEBRUARY 2016 middot wwwcentrodeinnovacionbbvacomen
The English newspaper mentions other
examples of banks that are embracing
biometrics
Barclays launched its voice recognition software
for its 300000 wealthiest customers in the United
Kingdom in 2013 One year later it said that this
technology had been so successful that it would
extend it to its 12 million retail banking customers
Barclays intends to offer them voice recognition
by the end of this year since ldquoit has been
incredibly popularrdquo among its wealthiest
customers who used to spend 15 minutes
checking their identity and can now do so in
less than ten seconds
Lloyds Banking Group has said that it is
considering including Amazon Echo in its online
banking services a voice-controlled hands-free
device that is only available in the United States
The bank claims that 360000 blind or visually
impaired people in the United Kingdom could
benefit from voice recognition
FINTECH SERIE middot FEBRUARY 2016 middot wwwcentrodeinnovacionbbvacomen
Royal Bank of Scotland says that
touch ID has been a ldquogreat
successrdquo following its launch last
year with over one million
customers now logging in using
their fingerprint
In the United States several banks
have tested biometric technology
and Citi has around 250000
customers who use voice
recognition authentication
Touch ID is available on all Apple
mobile devices for HSBC and First
Direct Customers have to
download the mobile banking app
and follow the instructions for
associating their fingerprint
And yes it works even if you have
a cold Joe Gordon HSBCs
customer contact manager in the
United Kingdom says that voice
recognition works even if you
have a cold In the BBC Today
program he claimed that ldquowe will
be able to deal with people with a
cold or with slight handicaps
Things like the size of our mouth
or the vocal tract dont change
Neither does the rhythm or
accent when a person has a
slight coldrdquo
Nuance Communication is
supplying the voice biometric
technology that cross checks
more than 100 unique
identifiers including behavioral
features such as speed rhythm
and pronunciation and physical
aspects like the shape of the
larynx the nasal tract and the
nasal passage
FINTECH SERIE middot FEBRERY 2016 middot wwwcentrodeinnovacionbbvacomen
According to a YouGov survey
published by HSBC the British
believe that along with voice
and touch the heart beats the
hair and even the saliva could
be used as passwords in the
future According to the survey
38 of people use the same
password for most of their
accounts while 55 say that
they rarely update their
passwords 78 of the 2038
adults surveyed were sure that
their body was the only thing
that could be used as a
password and 74 felt that it
would become the default
password in the future
FINTECH SERIE middot FEBRUARY 2016 middot wwwcentrodeinnovacionbbvacomen
The boom of biometric devices
is gaining momentum
positioning themselves firmly in
the security monitoring and
control solutions market
05INFOGRAPHY
Biometrictechnology
Share in Pinterest
FINTECH SERIE middot FEBRUARY 2016 middot wwwcentrodeinnovacionbbvacomen
Determines an individualacutes
identity The biometric data
are compared against all
the data held in the
database
Confirms an individualacutes
identity by comparing a
simple with one or more
templates obtained
previously
Identification vs Verification
Perceptions of authentication
61
Belive that biometric authentication is
as safe as passwordsWould like to use digital fingerprint
scanning to Access their accounts
40
FINTECH SERIE middot FEBRUARY 2016 middot wwwcentrodeinnovacionbbvacomen
Biometric solutions
Iris
Facerecognition
Voicerecognition
Fingerprint
Signature
Vascular
IrisCaptures an infrared picture of the personacutes eye which isprocessed to obtain the spectral information of the iris
Face recognitionThe faceacutes features are obtained using a low-resolution camera
Voice recognitionThe voiceacutes features are based on the shape and size of the appendages used to creacuteate the sound
FingerprintA map of the fingerprintacutes peaks and troughs is registeredusing optical termal andor ultrasound technology
SignatureRecording of the act of signing on a piece of paper or tablet The movement not the image is recorded
VascularAn infrared image of the skin is taken to detect the veinsand a map of their distribution is obtained
FINTECH SERIE middot FEBRUARY 2016 middot wwwcentrodeinnovacionbbvacomen
Applications on the market
Uses of biometric authentication
Travel17
Electronics20
Banking $ finance25
Government15
Defens12
Others11
Digital print
Fingerprint
Iris
Face recognition
Others
1
30
9
59
1
FINTECH SERIE middot FEBRUARY 2016 middot wwwcentrodeinnovacionbbvacomen
BBVA Innovation Center
creates the Fintech Serie By
Innovation Edge to keep
informed about the financial
innovation trends with its
milestones analysis cases
studie interviews with experts
and infographics to display the
data that describe each of
these trends
SERIEFINTECH BY innovation edge
share
LASTEST ISSUES
Easy quickly and very efficiently
are the keys of personal
management tools (PFM)
The advance of bitcoin and
payments
The takeoff of emerging companies
in a competitive world
A new concept in the world
of lsquostartupsrsquo
Regiacutestratepara estar al diacutea de las uacuteltimas tendencias
centrodeinnovacionbbvacom
centrodeinnovacionbbvacominnovation-edge
siacuteguenos
BBVA no se hace responsable de las opiniones publicadas en este documento
What sector do you think it
can help most
As I said before the banking
sector has yet to tap into the
substantial advantages offered
by these technologies in recent
years and it has much to gain
from them They can reduce
the costs related with the
management of identities fraud
prevention customer
convenience and the opening
of new customized services
both in person and remotely
Other sectors that will benefit
vastly from developments in
biometrics include distance
learning (students uptake of the
course material can be
monitored and their learning
outcomes can be certified as a
result) e-government
insurance companies notary
services courts medical
registers and health records
and more) In fact any area in
which it is necessary to
authenticate individuals and
subsequently manage these
identities
Are privacy and biometrics
compatible
Yes Most of the current large-
scale developments in
biometric systems are very
aware of the importance of
protecting privacy particularly
in Europe where the legislation
on data protection is clear and
strict
Many of these biometric
systems do not in fact store (on
the biometric template) the
users registration information in
an open way but via encrypted
versions or with very limited
information which ndashin the most
recent developmentsndash are not
even unencrypted for
comparison with other
biometric templates These
techniques for the protection of
biometric templates are in fact
a red-hot issue in research and
an area in which my group at
the UAM is also working
FINTECH SERIE middot FEBRUARY 2016 middot wwwcentrodeinnovacionbbvacomen
Millennials do not intend to go into a branch in their
lives Theyre used to taking out all services online and
want to have the same facility with banks But as
highlighted in the BBVA Research article ldquoDigital
contracting of financial services electronic identity as a
key elementrdquo there is no regulatory framework allowing
banks to remotely verify the identity of new customers
02Banks face the challenge of verifying the identity of new customers
FINTECH SERIE middot FEBRUARY 2016 middot wwwcentrodeinnovacionbbvacomen
While Google Facebook or
Skype need not verify the actual
identity of the person accessing
their services mdash not even
Amazon mdash registering with a
bank is not so easy ldquoThe
regulatory framework affecting
registering customers in the
financial sector is not
completely homogeneous
globally Some countries
prohibit the registration
processes through digital
channels and require a physical
meeting to proceed with
customer identification and
verification of their identity
Moreover in those places
where non face-to-face
contracting is permitted it is
sometimes difficult to establish
mechanisms for verifying
identity in these digital channels
that reveal unequivocally who
the customer is highlights the
Article
In Mexico for example one of
the objectives of the bank in
2016 is to strengthen controls
and in recent months reading
fingerprints has been extended
to identify customers and open
new accounts As highlighted in
this article in El Universal ldquowith
a customers fingerprint and
photograph identity theft is
impossible when the
fingerprints are already
registeredrdquo
The security problem is
growing as highlighted in this
article by BBVA Research
According to the for Strategic
and International Studies (CSIS)
the cost of cybercrime to the
global economy is about $450
billion In addition the
Ponemon Institute reports that
in 2013 43 of US companies
experienced a breach of data
security Individually the
greatest risks are identity theft
and loss of confidential
information The CSIS estimates
that there were 800 million
stolen personal records in the
same year worldwide In South
Korea for example in a
month over 70 of people
aged between 15 and 65 had
their personal data stolen and
their credit cards were put at
risk In the US according to a
2012 survey conducted by the
Bureau of Justice Statistics
phishing affected 166 million
people at a cost of $247
billion in financial losses
FINTECH SERIE middot FEBRUARY 2016 middot wwwcentrodeinnovacionbbvacomen
And how can identification be
guaranteed As highlighted by
BBVA Research The regulatory
framework affecting registering
customers in the financial
sector is not completely
homogeneous globally Some
countries prohibit the
registration processes through
digital channels and require a
physical meeting to proceed
with customer identification
and verification of their identity
Moreover in those places
where non face-to-face
contracting is permitted it is
sometimes difficult to
establish mechanisms for
verifying identity in these
digital channels that reveal
unequivocally who the
customer is highlights the
Article
Returning to Millennials and the
previous generation a survey
by Telstraglobal on generations
X and Y (those born between
1966-1976 and 1977-1994
respectively) indicates that
more than half of respondents
rate trust as the most
important factor of choice
when selecting a financial
services provider One in five
people would share their DNA
to help protect their financial
and personal information and
up to one in two people would
be willing to pay for a mobile
identity In addition less than
half are satisfied with their
institutions security more than
a third have experienced
phishing 40 of victims
believed it was the institutions
fault and 65 is likely to leave
the bank as a consequence of
this
2016 promises to be the
breakout year for biometrics
And banks cannot be left
behind
FINTECH SERIE middot FEBREUAY 2016 middot wwwcentrodeinnovacionbbvacomen
Emilio Martiacutenez CEO of Agnitio the company specializing
in voice biometric systems highlights the benefits of
voiceprints for personal authentication
03INTERVIEW
ldquoPasswords are inconvenient and insecure and their end is in sight
FINTECH SERIE middot FEBRUARY 2016 middot wwwcentrodeinnovacionbbvacomen
How did Agnitio start
AGNITIO started in 2004 as a
spin-off from the Madrid
Polytechnic University A
group of the signal treatment
department had worked for
years with the Guardia Civil
police force to develop a voice
biometric system that would
enable them to identify
criminals and terrorists from
their voices This system was
known from other European
police forces and sparked
considerable interest The
founding members negotiated
a contract with the university
for the transfer of the
technology and thats how
AGNITIO came about
Whats the profile of the
employees
92 of the employees are
engineers or graduates in
areas of advanced technology
This is an extremely
technological company with a
very high component of
R+D+i
How many countries do you
operate in and what sector
interests you most or is most
interested in your services
Agnitio has facilities in over 40
countries around the world
The geographical areas where
we have the greatest presence
are eastern Europe Latin
America and the United States
In the US we have a subsidiary
that sells to and supports our
customers in North America
With regard to market
segments our presence is
above all in the government
security sector (police and
intelligence corps and defense
organizations) followed by the
financial sector
FINTECH SERIE middot FEBRUARY 2016 middot wwwcentrodeinnovacionbbvacomen
be identified with an extremely
high degree of accuracy
Do they use complex and
expensive tools
The system is purely software
In other words the voice can
be recorded with any
microphone and theres no
need for any special IT
processing system Normal
servers and computers are
used Whats complex is the
software for processing the
signal ndashhighly complex
mathematical algorithms
efficiently programmed to
respond in fractions of a
second with todays processors
The cost depends on the size
of the project measured in
number of voiceprints that are
to be used andor the number
of parallel processes that our
technology is going to use
What are the features of
biometric voice verification
When someone speaks as well
as the information they transmit
in the form of words the
unique features of their vocal
tract ndashthe larynx the nasal
cavity the palate and so onndash
make an imprint on the sound
waves This voiceprint is
independent of the language
the person is speaking the
phrases theyre saying or the
individuals state of mind Card
technology is capable of
extracting this information and
storing it in the form of a
numerical ldquovoice imprintrdquo When
an unknown person is speaking
on the phone for example that
voice can be compared with
the stored voiceprint and
allows the person speaking to
FINTECH SERIE middot FEBRUARY 2016 middot wwwcentrodeinnovacionbbvacomen
These systems are not
accessible to individual
consumers because of their
cost but are acquired and
implemented by government
organizations and financial
institutions
How has the technology
advanced in this field
The study of voice biometrics
began in the 1990s but it
wasnt until the beginning of the
21st century that we saw the
first systems that could be
efficiently used The UPM
delivered the prototype of our
forensic identification system to
the Guardia Civil in 2000 Since
then several pioneering
research groups ndashof which we
are proud to be onendash have
gradually improved and
modified the algorithms to
obtain better results Our
products are already now in the
fourth generation of the
technology
Along with the improvements in
accuracy the calculations can
now be done much faster and
with fewer resources Our
earliest call-monitoring systems
with voice biometrics required
fifty times more processors
than they do today
What advantages does it have
compared to other
identification methods
(fingerprints irishellip)
The various biometric models
are not in competition but
complement each other in a
multi-factor authentication
environment When we come
near a person we use all our
FINTECH SERIE middot FEBRUARY 2016 middot wwwcentrodeinnovacionbbvacomen
ldquosensorsrdquo to identify them their
faces their way of walking
their voice and so on In the
same way in the future people
will be automatically identified
using all the possibilities
available on the devices
Sometimes some will be more
important than others Voice is
very important in situations of
remote authentication when
you cant see or touch the
person ndashin telephone
communications for example
Are they more efficient
The sensors needed to make a
voice authentication are
microphones and today we all
carry these around in our
pocket (in our cellphones) or
we have them on our
computer In terms of cost this
makes it much more efficient
than a fingerprint or iris
recognition which needs a
special sensor requiring special
care And its also the most
natural system Everyones used
to talking to speaking on the
phone Its not something thats
considered intrusive unlike
taking a photo of your eye or
taking your fingerprint
Whats more were increasingly
using our voices to interact with
our surroundings In the future
well communicate with a whole
range of devices in our cars
and homes and at work by
using our voices to give
commands and obtain
information Using our same
voice as a way of authenticating
ourselves will become more
natural than using any other
biometric model Well identify
ourselves with the same
phrases we use when we to talk
with virtual assistants
What can it provide for a
bank
Voice biometric applications in
the world of finance are only
just beginning Perhaps the
application with the best return
on investment today is fraud
detection in call centers The
use of ldquoblacklistsrdquo of voices of
people who have committed
fraud can be used to filter
incoming calls This is having a
massive effect on preventingthe
proliferation of organized gangs
who used the call center to
commit fraud or obtain
information with which to
commit fraud through other
channels
FINTECH SERIE middot FEBRUARY 2016 middot wwwcentrodeinnovacionbbvacomen
Voice authentication also
reduces fraud and makes the
user experience on the
telephone or mobile channel
much faster and more user-
friendly
How
Multichannel systems can be
deployed that combine
authentication in the Banks
different channels telephone
mobile Internet video-chat
social networks and so on It
can also be used to sign
documents using the voice
Customers can use their voice
to accept a contract and this
voice converted into a
voiceprint can be used as the
ldquosignaturerdquo for the document
This way a customer can open
a bank account via only the
Internet andor telephone
channel without having to go to
the branch office
Of course many of these
advances must pass through
regulatory filters and be
accompanied by other security
and control systems
In the case of a physical
presence a handwritten
signature is normally used as
authentication when making a
transaction And in many cases
it includes the comparison of an
identity document with a
photograph These procedures
also have their weak points
when the comparison is done
by people who are not expert in
handwriting or in document
recognition As far as I know
theres no comparison of false
positives between physical
presence systems and
biometric models but Im sure
there would be no surprises
and particularly in the case of
very well planned attacks
Is it very difficult to copy a
voice
Voices can be recorded and
reproduced later in attempt to
imitate the legitimate user This
is why the measures to prevent
these recorded attacks (anti-
spoofing in biometric slang) are
very important in any
implementation that does not
involve an agent speaking to
the person on a direct line
Agnitio has several patented
systems that guard against
these attacks using very
sophisticated technology that
detects the
recordingreproduction cycle
and compares it to the direct
use of the voice
It is impossible today to
generate a voice which so
closely resembles someones
voice that it can deceive the
system Both professional
imitators and voice synthesis
systems can easily be detected
by our software
FINTECH SERIE middot FEBRUARY 2016 middot wwwcentrodeinnovacionbbvacomen
Do you believe that man-in-the-middle attacks
are more dangerous for voice systems and is it
easier to obtain a voice sample than one from
another part of the body
MITM attacks are normally related with encrypted
communication between two systems This occurs
in voice biometrics when the communication takes
place via the IP network and not the telephone
channel In these cases protecting the voiceprint
by correctly encrypting it is an additional problem
to be resolved by systems integrators to avoid the
possibility of these voiceprints (and digital or facial
biometrics) being intercepted and changed This is
why voice biometrics ndashin particular encrypted
voiceprints (not the voice itself)ndash is neither more
nor less likely to suffer attack by MITM
However the voice is often used as authentication
via a different channel (out of band authentication)
Using a brief telephone call on a previously agreed
phone number and making the user say a certain
phrase is the most convenient and secure way of
making an out-of-band authentication
FINTECH SERIE middot FEBRUARY 2016 middot wwwcentrodeinnovacionbbvacomen
Will biometric systems do
away with passwords
Im convinced that the end of
passwords is in sight at least as
a basic authentication tool
Companies banks and online
retailers canrsquot go on torturing
their customers by making
them remember secure
passwords that need to be
frequently changed Today an
average user can have as many
as 60 passwords with 20 being
the average in a European
country Some studies indicate
that ten of them are used on a
daily basis And of course to
keep them safe they have to be
long contain uppercase and
lowercase symbols and be
frequently changed Thats
impossible to maintain
Theres no doubt that
biometrics is one of the ways in
which this problem is going to
be resolved It will be assisted
by other security technologies
to ensure that the entire
process is secure and that the
security is sufficiently
dimensioned for the information
its protecting Im convinced
that sooner or later well
perhaps have just a few very
secure passwords that we wont
need to use very often and
which will only be used as
backup systems in extreme
cases
What are the advantages of
biometric verification by voice
compared to passwords
Passwords are impossible to
remember when theyre even
remotely secure And theyre
also easy to steal or find out
They have the worst of both
worlds theyre inconvenient
and not very secure Multimodal
biometric verification is both
convenient for the user and
extremely secure It can be
flexibly adapted to the
environment
FINTECH SERIE middot FEBRUARY 2016 middot wwwcentrodeinnovacionbbvacomen
Which country is the most
advanced
The use of voice biometrics in
governments is more advanced
in Europe than in the United
States for several historic
reasons However the
implementation in the financial
sector is more advanced in the
United States
What are the next challenges
for Agnitio
The most important challenge
for any company at the
forefront of a technology sector
is to stay ahead ndashlike the Queen
of Hearts in Alice in
Wonderland who had to keep
running to stay in the same
place In other words the
challenge is to continue with
the work of research into new
algorithms in order to improve
both the accuracy speed and
the size of the systems Agnitio
is now in the fourth generation
of voice identification
technology Were now working
on the fifth generation which
will be much more robust
against environmental noise
have spectacular improvements
in accuracy in short speech
and be able to learn to
recognize users very fast over
time These are some of the
requirements for authentication
in the cloud services that wersquoll
be seeing on a massive scale in
the coming years
FINTECH SERIE middot FEBRUARY 2016 middot wwwcentrodeinnovacionbbvacomen
The bank and First Direct offer their 15 million customers
biometric banking software for accessing their accounts
online and by phone using their fingerprint or voice
04HSBCs bid forbiometrics
Fifteen million customers identified through their voice and
fingerprints This is the goal set by HSBC which is extending its
bid for biometrics in the United Kingdom HSBC and First Direct
customers who use telephone banking and mobile apps can
access their accounts through a system that checks their voice
and fingerprint The bank believes that the software will help it
address the issue of forgotten passwords
FINTECH SERIE middot FEBRUARY 2016 middot wwwcentrodeinnovacionbbvacomen
Francesca McDonagh HSBCs
retail banking and wealth
management manager
describes the decision as ldquothe
largest deployment of voice-
based biometric security
technology in the United
Kingdomrdquo ldquoThe launch of voice
and touch ID makes it even
easier for customers to access
their bank accounts using the
safest form of password the
bodyrdquo she concludes in this
article published in The
Guardian
First Direct will start registering
customers for voice
identification in the coming
weeks and HSBC will follow suit
in summer Customers who
decide to use this option must
register their ldquovoiceprintrdquo and
will never again have to use a
phone password or PIN
FINTECH SERIE middot FEBRUARY 2016 middot wwwcentrodeinnovacionbbvacomen
The English newspaper mentions other
examples of banks that are embracing
biometrics
Barclays launched its voice recognition software
for its 300000 wealthiest customers in the United
Kingdom in 2013 One year later it said that this
technology had been so successful that it would
extend it to its 12 million retail banking customers
Barclays intends to offer them voice recognition
by the end of this year since ldquoit has been
incredibly popularrdquo among its wealthiest
customers who used to spend 15 minutes
checking their identity and can now do so in
less than ten seconds
Lloyds Banking Group has said that it is
considering including Amazon Echo in its online
banking services a voice-controlled hands-free
device that is only available in the United States
The bank claims that 360000 blind or visually
impaired people in the United Kingdom could
benefit from voice recognition
FINTECH SERIE middot FEBRUARY 2016 middot wwwcentrodeinnovacionbbvacomen
Royal Bank of Scotland says that
touch ID has been a ldquogreat
successrdquo following its launch last
year with over one million
customers now logging in using
their fingerprint
In the United States several banks
have tested biometric technology
and Citi has around 250000
customers who use voice
recognition authentication
Touch ID is available on all Apple
mobile devices for HSBC and First
Direct Customers have to
download the mobile banking app
and follow the instructions for
associating their fingerprint
And yes it works even if you have
a cold Joe Gordon HSBCs
customer contact manager in the
United Kingdom says that voice
recognition works even if you
have a cold In the BBC Today
program he claimed that ldquowe will
be able to deal with people with a
cold or with slight handicaps
Things like the size of our mouth
or the vocal tract dont change
Neither does the rhythm or
accent when a person has a
slight coldrdquo
Nuance Communication is
supplying the voice biometric
technology that cross checks
more than 100 unique
identifiers including behavioral
features such as speed rhythm
and pronunciation and physical
aspects like the shape of the
larynx the nasal tract and the
nasal passage
FINTECH SERIE middot FEBRERY 2016 middot wwwcentrodeinnovacionbbvacomen
According to a YouGov survey
published by HSBC the British
believe that along with voice
and touch the heart beats the
hair and even the saliva could
be used as passwords in the
future According to the survey
38 of people use the same
password for most of their
accounts while 55 say that
they rarely update their
passwords 78 of the 2038
adults surveyed were sure that
their body was the only thing
that could be used as a
password and 74 felt that it
would become the default
password in the future
FINTECH SERIE middot FEBRUARY 2016 middot wwwcentrodeinnovacionbbvacomen
The boom of biometric devices
is gaining momentum
positioning themselves firmly in
the security monitoring and
control solutions market
05INFOGRAPHY
Biometrictechnology
Share in Pinterest
FINTECH SERIE middot FEBRUARY 2016 middot wwwcentrodeinnovacionbbvacomen
Determines an individualacutes
identity The biometric data
are compared against all
the data held in the
database
Confirms an individualacutes
identity by comparing a
simple with one or more
templates obtained
previously
Identification vs Verification
Perceptions of authentication
61
Belive that biometric authentication is
as safe as passwordsWould like to use digital fingerprint
scanning to Access their accounts
40
FINTECH SERIE middot FEBRUARY 2016 middot wwwcentrodeinnovacionbbvacomen
Biometric solutions
Iris
Facerecognition
Voicerecognition
Fingerprint
Signature
Vascular
IrisCaptures an infrared picture of the personacutes eye which isprocessed to obtain the spectral information of the iris
Face recognitionThe faceacutes features are obtained using a low-resolution camera
Voice recognitionThe voiceacutes features are based on the shape and size of the appendages used to creacuteate the sound
FingerprintA map of the fingerprintacutes peaks and troughs is registeredusing optical termal andor ultrasound technology
SignatureRecording of the act of signing on a piece of paper or tablet The movement not the image is recorded
VascularAn infrared image of the skin is taken to detect the veinsand a map of their distribution is obtained
FINTECH SERIE middot FEBRUARY 2016 middot wwwcentrodeinnovacionbbvacomen
Applications on the market
Uses of biometric authentication
Travel17
Electronics20
Banking $ finance25
Government15
Defens12
Others11
Digital print
Fingerprint
Iris
Face recognition
Others
1
30
9
59
1
FINTECH SERIE middot FEBRUARY 2016 middot wwwcentrodeinnovacionbbvacomen
BBVA Innovation Center
creates the Fintech Serie By
Innovation Edge to keep
informed about the financial
innovation trends with its
milestones analysis cases
studie interviews with experts
and infographics to display the
data that describe each of
these trends
SERIEFINTECH BY innovation edge
share
LASTEST ISSUES
Easy quickly and very efficiently
are the keys of personal
management tools (PFM)
The advance of bitcoin and
payments
The takeoff of emerging companies
in a competitive world
A new concept in the world
of lsquostartupsrsquo
Regiacutestratepara estar al diacutea de las uacuteltimas tendencias
centrodeinnovacionbbvacom
centrodeinnovacionbbvacominnovation-edge
siacuteguenos
BBVA no se hace responsable de las opiniones publicadas en este documento
Millennials do not intend to go into a branch in their
lives Theyre used to taking out all services online and
want to have the same facility with banks But as
highlighted in the BBVA Research article ldquoDigital
contracting of financial services electronic identity as a
key elementrdquo there is no regulatory framework allowing
banks to remotely verify the identity of new customers
02Banks face the challenge of verifying the identity of new customers
FINTECH SERIE middot FEBRUARY 2016 middot wwwcentrodeinnovacionbbvacomen
While Google Facebook or
Skype need not verify the actual
identity of the person accessing
their services mdash not even
Amazon mdash registering with a
bank is not so easy ldquoThe
regulatory framework affecting
registering customers in the
financial sector is not
completely homogeneous
globally Some countries
prohibit the registration
processes through digital
channels and require a physical
meeting to proceed with
customer identification and
verification of their identity
Moreover in those places
where non face-to-face
contracting is permitted it is
sometimes difficult to establish
mechanisms for verifying
identity in these digital channels
that reveal unequivocally who
the customer is highlights the
Article
In Mexico for example one of
the objectives of the bank in
2016 is to strengthen controls
and in recent months reading
fingerprints has been extended
to identify customers and open
new accounts As highlighted in
this article in El Universal ldquowith
a customers fingerprint and
photograph identity theft is
impossible when the
fingerprints are already
registeredrdquo
The security problem is
growing as highlighted in this
article by BBVA Research
According to the for Strategic
and International Studies (CSIS)
the cost of cybercrime to the
global economy is about $450
billion In addition the
Ponemon Institute reports that
in 2013 43 of US companies
experienced a breach of data
security Individually the
greatest risks are identity theft
and loss of confidential
information The CSIS estimates
that there were 800 million
stolen personal records in the
same year worldwide In South
Korea for example in a
month over 70 of people
aged between 15 and 65 had
their personal data stolen and
their credit cards were put at
risk In the US according to a
2012 survey conducted by the
Bureau of Justice Statistics
phishing affected 166 million
people at a cost of $247
billion in financial losses
FINTECH SERIE middot FEBRUARY 2016 middot wwwcentrodeinnovacionbbvacomen
And how can identification be
guaranteed As highlighted by
BBVA Research The regulatory
framework affecting registering
customers in the financial
sector is not completely
homogeneous globally Some
countries prohibit the
registration processes through
digital channels and require a
physical meeting to proceed
with customer identification
and verification of their identity
Moreover in those places
where non face-to-face
contracting is permitted it is
sometimes difficult to
establish mechanisms for
verifying identity in these
digital channels that reveal
unequivocally who the
customer is highlights the
Article
Returning to Millennials and the
previous generation a survey
by Telstraglobal on generations
X and Y (those born between
1966-1976 and 1977-1994
respectively) indicates that
more than half of respondents
rate trust as the most
important factor of choice
when selecting a financial
services provider One in five
people would share their DNA
to help protect their financial
and personal information and
up to one in two people would
be willing to pay for a mobile
identity In addition less than
half are satisfied with their
institutions security more than
a third have experienced
phishing 40 of victims
believed it was the institutions
fault and 65 is likely to leave
the bank as a consequence of
this
2016 promises to be the
breakout year for biometrics
And banks cannot be left
behind
FINTECH SERIE middot FEBREUAY 2016 middot wwwcentrodeinnovacionbbvacomen
Emilio Martiacutenez CEO of Agnitio the company specializing
in voice biometric systems highlights the benefits of
voiceprints for personal authentication
03INTERVIEW
ldquoPasswords are inconvenient and insecure and their end is in sight
FINTECH SERIE middot FEBRUARY 2016 middot wwwcentrodeinnovacionbbvacomen
How did Agnitio start
AGNITIO started in 2004 as a
spin-off from the Madrid
Polytechnic University A
group of the signal treatment
department had worked for
years with the Guardia Civil
police force to develop a voice
biometric system that would
enable them to identify
criminals and terrorists from
their voices This system was
known from other European
police forces and sparked
considerable interest The
founding members negotiated
a contract with the university
for the transfer of the
technology and thats how
AGNITIO came about
Whats the profile of the
employees
92 of the employees are
engineers or graduates in
areas of advanced technology
This is an extremely
technological company with a
very high component of
R+D+i
How many countries do you
operate in and what sector
interests you most or is most
interested in your services
Agnitio has facilities in over 40
countries around the world
The geographical areas where
we have the greatest presence
are eastern Europe Latin
America and the United States
In the US we have a subsidiary
that sells to and supports our
customers in North America
With regard to market
segments our presence is
above all in the government
security sector (police and
intelligence corps and defense
organizations) followed by the
financial sector
FINTECH SERIE middot FEBRUARY 2016 middot wwwcentrodeinnovacionbbvacomen
be identified with an extremely
high degree of accuracy
Do they use complex and
expensive tools
The system is purely software
In other words the voice can
be recorded with any
microphone and theres no
need for any special IT
processing system Normal
servers and computers are
used Whats complex is the
software for processing the
signal ndashhighly complex
mathematical algorithms
efficiently programmed to
respond in fractions of a
second with todays processors
The cost depends on the size
of the project measured in
number of voiceprints that are
to be used andor the number
of parallel processes that our
technology is going to use
What are the features of
biometric voice verification
When someone speaks as well
as the information they transmit
in the form of words the
unique features of their vocal
tract ndashthe larynx the nasal
cavity the palate and so onndash
make an imprint on the sound
waves This voiceprint is
independent of the language
the person is speaking the
phrases theyre saying or the
individuals state of mind Card
technology is capable of
extracting this information and
storing it in the form of a
numerical ldquovoice imprintrdquo When
an unknown person is speaking
on the phone for example that
voice can be compared with
the stored voiceprint and
allows the person speaking to
FINTECH SERIE middot FEBRUARY 2016 middot wwwcentrodeinnovacionbbvacomen
These systems are not
accessible to individual
consumers because of their
cost but are acquired and
implemented by government
organizations and financial
institutions
How has the technology
advanced in this field
The study of voice biometrics
began in the 1990s but it
wasnt until the beginning of the
21st century that we saw the
first systems that could be
efficiently used The UPM
delivered the prototype of our
forensic identification system to
the Guardia Civil in 2000 Since
then several pioneering
research groups ndashof which we
are proud to be onendash have
gradually improved and
modified the algorithms to
obtain better results Our
products are already now in the
fourth generation of the
technology
Along with the improvements in
accuracy the calculations can
now be done much faster and
with fewer resources Our
earliest call-monitoring systems
with voice biometrics required
fifty times more processors
than they do today
What advantages does it have
compared to other
identification methods
(fingerprints irishellip)
The various biometric models
are not in competition but
complement each other in a
multi-factor authentication
environment When we come
near a person we use all our
FINTECH SERIE middot FEBRUARY 2016 middot wwwcentrodeinnovacionbbvacomen
ldquosensorsrdquo to identify them their
faces their way of walking
their voice and so on In the
same way in the future people
will be automatically identified
using all the possibilities
available on the devices
Sometimes some will be more
important than others Voice is
very important in situations of
remote authentication when
you cant see or touch the
person ndashin telephone
communications for example
Are they more efficient
The sensors needed to make a
voice authentication are
microphones and today we all
carry these around in our
pocket (in our cellphones) or
we have them on our
computer In terms of cost this
makes it much more efficient
than a fingerprint or iris
recognition which needs a
special sensor requiring special
care And its also the most
natural system Everyones used
to talking to speaking on the
phone Its not something thats
considered intrusive unlike
taking a photo of your eye or
taking your fingerprint
Whats more were increasingly
using our voices to interact with
our surroundings In the future
well communicate with a whole
range of devices in our cars
and homes and at work by
using our voices to give
commands and obtain
information Using our same
voice as a way of authenticating
ourselves will become more
natural than using any other
biometric model Well identify
ourselves with the same
phrases we use when we to talk
with virtual assistants
What can it provide for a
bank
Voice biometric applications in
the world of finance are only
just beginning Perhaps the
application with the best return
on investment today is fraud
detection in call centers The
use of ldquoblacklistsrdquo of voices of
people who have committed
fraud can be used to filter
incoming calls This is having a
massive effect on preventingthe
proliferation of organized gangs
who used the call center to
commit fraud or obtain
information with which to
commit fraud through other
channels
FINTECH SERIE middot FEBRUARY 2016 middot wwwcentrodeinnovacionbbvacomen
Voice authentication also
reduces fraud and makes the
user experience on the
telephone or mobile channel
much faster and more user-
friendly
How
Multichannel systems can be
deployed that combine
authentication in the Banks
different channels telephone
mobile Internet video-chat
social networks and so on It
can also be used to sign
documents using the voice
Customers can use their voice
to accept a contract and this
voice converted into a
voiceprint can be used as the
ldquosignaturerdquo for the document
This way a customer can open
a bank account via only the
Internet andor telephone
channel without having to go to
the branch office
Of course many of these
advances must pass through
regulatory filters and be
accompanied by other security
and control systems
In the case of a physical
presence a handwritten
signature is normally used as
authentication when making a
transaction And in many cases
it includes the comparison of an
identity document with a
photograph These procedures
also have their weak points
when the comparison is done
by people who are not expert in
handwriting or in document
recognition As far as I know
theres no comparison of false
positives between physical
presence systems and
biometric models but Im sure
there would be no surprises
and particularly in the case of
very well planned attacks
Is it very difficult to copy a
voice
Voices can be recorded and
reproduced later in attempt to
imitate the legitimate user This
is why the measures to prevent
these recorded attacks (anti-
spoofing in biometric slang) are
very important in any
implementation that does not
involve an agent speaking to
the person on a direct line
Agnitio has several patented
systems that guard against
these attacks using very
sophisticated technology that
detects the
recordingreproduction cycle
and compares it to the direct
use of the voice
It is impossible today to
generate a voice which so
closely resembles someones
voice that it can deceive the
system Both professional
imitators and voice synthesis
systems can easily be detected
by our software
FINTECH SERIE middot FEBRUARY 2016 middot wwwcentrodeinnovacionbbvacomen
Do you believe that man-in-the-middle attacks
are more dangerous for voice systems and is it
easier to obtain a voice sample than one from
another part of the body
MITM attacks are normally related with encrypted
communication between two systems This occurs
in voice biometrics when the communication takes
place via the IP network and not the telephone
channel In these cases protecting the voiceprint
by correctly encrypting it is an additional problem
to be resolved by systems integrators to avoid the
possibility of these voiceprints (and digital or facial
biometrics) being intercepted and changed This is
why voice biometrics ndashin particular encrypted
voiceprints (not the voice itself)ndash is neither more
nor less likely to suffer attack by MITM
However the voice is often used as authentication
via a different channel (out of band authentication)
Using a brief telephone call on a previously agreed
phone number and making the user say a certain
phrase is the most convenient and secure way of
making an out-of-band authentication
FINTECH SERIE middot FEBRUARY 2016 middot wwwcentrodeinnovacionbbvacomen
Will biometric systems do
away with passwords
Im convinced that the end of
passwords is in sight at least as
a basic authentication tool
Companies banks and online
retailers canrsquot go on torturing
their customers by making
them remember secure
passwords that need to be
frequently changed Today an
average user can have as many
as 60 passwords with 20 being
the average in a European
country Some studies indicate
that ten of them are used on a
daily basis And of course to
keep them safe they have to be
long contain uppercase and
lowercase symbols and be
frequently changed Thats
impossible to maintain
Theres no doubt that
biometrics is one of the ways in
which this problem is going to
be resolved It will be assisted
by other security technologies
to ensure that the entire
process is secure and that the
security is sufficiently
dimensioned for the information
its protecting Im convinced
that sooner or later well
perhaps have just a few very
secure passwords that we wont
need to use very often and
which will only be used as
backup systems in extreme
cases
What are the advantages of
biometric verification by voice
compared to passwords
Passwords are impossible to
remember when theyre even
remotely secure And theyre
also easy to steal or find out
They have the worst of both
worlds theyre inconvenient
and not very secure Multimodal
biometric verification is both
convenient for the user and
extremely secure It can be
flexibly adapted to the
environment
FINTECH SERIE middot FEBRUARY 2016 middot wwwcentrodeinnovacionbbvacomen
Which country is the most
advanced
The use of voice biometrics in
governments is more advanced
in Europe than in the United
States for several historic
reasons However the
implementation in the financial
sector is more advanced in the
United States
What are the next challenges
for Agnitio
The most important challenge
for any company at the
forefront of a technology sector
is to stay ahead ndashlike the Queen
of Hearts in Alice in
Wonderland who had to keep
running to stay in the same
place In other words the
challenge is to continue with
the work of research into new
algorithms in order to improve
both the accuracy speed and
the size of the systems Agnitio
is now in the fourth generation
of voice identification
technology Were now working
on the fifth generation which
will be much more robust
against environmental noise
have spectacular improvements
in accuracy in short speech
and be able to learn to
recognize users very fast over
time These are some of the
requirements for authentication
in the cloud services that wersquoll
be seeing on a massive scale in
the coming years
FINTECH SERIE middot FEBRUARY 2016 middot wwwcentrodeinnovacionbbvacomen
The bank and First Direct offer their 15 million customers
biometric banking software for accessing their accounts
online and by phone using their fingerprint or voice
04HSBCs bid forbiometrics
Fifteen million customers identified through their voice and
fingerprints This is the goal set by HSBC which is extending its
bid for biometrics in the United Kingdom HSBC and First Direct
customers who use telephone banking and mobile apps can
access their accounts through a system that checks their voice
and fingerprint The bank believes that the software will help it
address the issue of forgotten passwords
FINTECH SERIE middot FEBRUARY 2016 middot wwwcentrodeinnovacionbbvacomen
Francesca McDonagh HSBCs
retail banking and wealth
management manager
describes the decision as ldquothe
largest deployment of voice-
based biometric security
technology in the United
Kingdomrdquo ldquoThe launch of voice
and touch ID makes it even
easier for customers to access
their bank accounts using the
safest form of password the
bodyrdquo she concludes in this
article published in The
Guardian
First Direct will start registering
customers for voice
identification in the coming
weeks and HSBC will follow suit
in summer Customers who
decide to use this option must
register their ldquovoiceprintrdquo and
will never again have to use a
phone password or PIN
FINTECH SERIE middot FEBRUARY 2016 middot wwwcentrodeinnovacionbbvacomen
The English newspaper mentions other
examples of banks that are embracing
biometrics
Barclays launched its voice recognition software
for its 300000 wealthiest customers in the United
Kingdom in 2013 One year later it said that this
technology had been so successful that it would
extend it to its 12 million retail banking customers
Barclays intends to offer them voice recognition
by the end of this year since ldquoit has been
incredibly popularrdquo among its wealthiest
customers who used to spend 15 minutes
checking their identity and can now do so in
less than ten seconds
Lloyds Banking Group has said that it is
considering including Amazon Echo in its online
banking services a voice-controlled hands-free
device that is only available in the United States
The bank claims that 360000 blind or visually
impaired people in the United Kingdom could
benefit from voice recognition
FINTECH SERIE middot FEBRUARY 2016 middot wwwcentrodeinnovacionbbvacomen
Royal Bank of Scotland says that
touch ID has been a ldquogreat
successrdquo following its launch last
year with over one million
customers now logging in using
their fingerprint
In the United States several banks
have tested biometric technology
and Citi has around 250000
customers who use voice
recognition authentication
Touch ID is available on all Apple
mobile devices for HSBC and First
Direct Customers have to
download the mobile banking app
and follow the instructions for
associating their fingerprint
And yes it works even if you have
a cold Joe Gordon HSBCs
customer contact manager in the
United Kingdom says that voice
recognition works even if you
have a cold In the BBC Today
program he claimed that ldquowe will
be able to deal with people with a
cold or with slight handicaps
Things like the size of our mouth
or the vocal tract dont change
Neither does the rhythm or
accent when a person has a
slight coldrdquo
Nuance Communication is
supplying the voice biometric
technology that cross checks
more than 100 unique
identifiers including behavioral
features such as speed rhythm
and pronunciation and physical
aspects like the shape of the
larynx the nasal tract and the
nasal passage
FINTECH SERIE middot FEBRERY 2016 middot wwwcentrodeinnovacionbbvacomen
According to a YouGov survey
published by HSBC the British
believe that along with voice
and touch the heart beats the
hair and even the saliva could
be used as passwords in the
future According to the survey
38 of people use the same
password for most of their
accounts while 55 say that
they rarely update their
passwords 78 of the 2038
adults surveyed were sure that
their body was the only thing
that could be used as a
password and 74 felt that it
would become the default
password in the future
FINTECH SERIE middot FEBRUARY 2016 middot wwwcentrodeinnovacionbbvacomen
The boom of biometric devices
is gaining momentum
positioning themselves firmly in
the security monitoring and
control solutions market
05INFOGRAPHY
Biometrictechnology
Share in Pinterest
FINTECH SERIE middot FEBRUARY 2016 middot wwwcentrodeinnovacionbbvacomen
Determines an individualacutes
identity The biometric data
are compared against all
the data held in the
database
Confirms an individualacutes
identity by comparing a
simple with one or more
templates obtained
previously
Identification vs Verification
Perceptions of authentication
61
Belive that biometric authentication is
as safe as passwordsWould like to use digital fingerprint
scanning to Access their accounts
40
FINTECH SERIE middot FEBRUARY 2016 middot wwwcentrodeinnovacionbbvacomen
Biometric solutions
Iris
Facerecognition
Voicerecognition
Fingerprint
Signature
Vascular
IrisCaptures an infrared picture of the personacutes eye which isprocessed to obtain the spectral information of the iris
Face recognitionThe faceacutes features are obtained using a low-resolution camera
Voice recognitionThe voiceacutes features are based on the shape and size of the appendages used to creacuteate the sound
FingerprintA map of the fingerprintacutes peaks and troughs is registeredusing optical termal andor ultrasound technology
SignatureRecording of the act of signing on a piece of paper or tablet The movement not the image is recorded
VascularAn infrared image of the skin is taken to detect the veinsand a map of their distribution is obtained
FINTECH SERIE middot FEBRUARY 2016 middot wwwcentrodeinnovacionbbvacomen
Applications on the market
Uses of biometric authentication
Travel17
Electronics20
Banking $ finance25
Government15
Defens12
Others11
Digital print
Fingerprint
Iris
Face recognition
Others
1
30
9
59
1
FINTECH SERIE middot FEBRUARY 2016 middot wwwcentrodeinnovacionbbvacomen
BBVA Innovation Center
creates the Fintech Serie By
Innovation Edge to keep
informed about the financial
innovation trends with its
milestones analysis cases
studie interviews with experts
and infographics to display the
data that describe each of
these trends
SERIEFINTECH BY innovation edge
share
LASTEST ISSUES
Easy quickly and very efficiently
are the keys of personal
management tools (PFM)
The advance of bitcoin and
payments
The takeoff of emerging companies
in a competitive world
A new concept in the world
of lsquostartupsrsquo
Regiacutestratepara estar al diacutea de las uacuteltimas tendencias
centrodeinnovacionbbvacom
centrodeinnovacionbbvacominnovation-edge
siacuteguenos
BBVA no se hace responsable de las opiniones publicadas en este documento
While Google Facebook or
Skype need not verify the actual
identity of the person accessing
their services mdash not even
Amazon mdash registering with a
bank is not so easy ldquoThe
regulatory framework affecting
registering customers in the
financial sector is not
completely homogeneous
globally Some countries
prohibit the registration
processes through digital
channels and require a physical
meeting to proceed with
customer identification and
verification of their identity
Moreover in those places
where non face-to-face
contracting is permitted it is
sometimes difficult to establish
mechanisms for verifying
identity in these digital channels
that reveal unequivocally who
the customer is highlights the
Article
In Mexico for example one of
the objectives of the bank in
2016 is to strengthen controls
and in recent months reading
fingerprints has been extended
to identify customers and open
new accounts As highlighted in
this article in El Universal ldquowith
a customers fingerprint and
photograph identity theft is
impossible when the
fingerprints are already
registeredrdquo
The security problem is
growing as highlighted in this
article by BBVA Research
According to the for Strategic
and International Studies (CSIS)
the cost of cybercrime to the
global economy is about $450
billion In addition the
Ponemon Institute reports that
in 2013 43 of US companies
experienced a breach of data
security Individually the
greatest risks are identity theft
and loss of confidential
information The CSIS estimates
that there were 800 million
stolen personal records in the
same year worldwide In South
Korea for example in a
month over 70 of people
aged between 15 and 65 had
their personal data stolen and
their credit cards were put at
risk In the US according to a
2012 survey conducted by the
Bureau of Justice Statistics
phishing affected 166 million
people at a cost of $247
billion in financial losses
FINTECH SERIE middot FEBRUARY 2016 middot wwwcentrodeinnovacionbbvacomen
And how can identification be
guaranteed As highlighted by
BBVA Research The regulatory
framework affecting registering
customers in the financial
sector is not completely
homogeneous globally Some
countries prohibit the
registration processes through
digital channels and require a
physical meeting to proceed
with customer identification
and verification of their identity
Moreover in those places
where non face-to-face
contracting is permitted it is
sometimes difficult to
establish mechanisms for
verifying identity in these
digital channels that reveal
unequivocally who the
customer is highlights the
Article
Returning to Millennials and the
previous generation a survey
by Telstraglobal on generations
X and Y (those born between
1966-1976 and 1977-1994
respectively) indicates that
more than half of respondents
rate trust as the most
important factor of choice
when selecting a financial
services provider One in five
people would share their DNA
to help protect their financial
and personal information and
up to one in two people would
be willing to pay for a mobile
identity In addition less than
half are satisfied with their
institutions security more than
a third have experienced
phishing 40 of victims
believed it was the institutions
fault and 65 is likely to leave
the bank as a consequence of
this
2016 promises to be the
breakout year for biometrics
And banks cannot be left
behind
FINTECH SERIE middot FEBREUAY 2016 middot wwwcentrodeinnovacionbbvacomen
Emilio Martiacutenez CEO of Agnitio the company specializing
in voice biometric systems highlights the benefits of
voiceprints for personal authentication
03INTERVIEW
ldquoPasswords are inconvenient and insecure and their end is in sight
FINTECH SERIE middot FEBRUARY 2016 middot wwwcentrodeinnovacionbbvacomen
How did Agnitio start
AGNITIO started in 2004 as a
spin-off from the Madrid
Polytechnic University A
group of the signal treatment
department had worked for
years with the Guardia Civil
police force to develop a voice
biometric system that would
enable them to identify
criminals and terrorists from
their voices This system was
known from other European
police forces and sparked
considerable interest The
founding members negotiated
a contract with the university
for the transfer of the
technology and thats how
AGNITIO came about
Whats the profile of the
employees
92 of the employees are
engineers or graduates in
areas of advanced technology
This is an extremely
technological company with a
very high component of
R+D+i
How many countries do you
operate in and what sector
interests you most or is most
interested in your services
Agnitio has facilities in over 40
countries around the world
The geographical areas where
we have the greatest presence
are eastern Europe Latin
America and the United States
In the US we have a subsidiary
that sells to and supports our
customers in North America
With regard to market
segments our presence is
above all in the government
security sector (police and
intelligence corps and defense
organizations) followed by the
financial sector
FINTECH SERIE middot FEBRUARY 2016 middot wwwcentrodeinnovacionbbvacomen
be identified with an extremely
high degree of accuracy
Do they use complex and
expensive tools
The system is purely software
In other words the voice can
be recorded with any
microphone and theres no
need for any special IT
processing system Normal
servers and computers are
used Whats complex is the
software for processing the
signal ndashhighly complex
mathematical algorithms
efficiently programmed to
respond in fractions of a
second with todays processors
The cost depends on the size
of the project measured in
number of voiceprints that are
to be used andor the number
of parallel processes that our
technology is going to use
What are the features of
biometric voice verification
When someone speaks as well
as the information they transmit
in the form of words the
unique features of their vocal
tract ndashthe larynx the nasal
cavity the palate and so onndash
make an imprint on the sound
waves This voiceprint is
independent of the language
the person is speaking the
phrases theyre saying or the
individuals state of mind Card
technology is capable of
extracting this information and
storing it in the form of a
numerical ldquovoice imprintrdquo When
an unknown person is speaking
on the phone for example that
voice can be compared with
the stored voiceprint and
allows the person speaking to
FINTECH SERIE middot FEBRUARY 2016 middot wwwcentrodeinnovacionbbvacomen
These systems are not
accessible to individual
consumers because of their
cost but are acquired and
implemented by government
organizations and financial
institutions
How has the technology
advanced in this field
The study of voice biometrics
began in the 1990s but it
wasnt until the beginning of the
21st century that we saw the
first systems that could be
efficiently used The UPM
delivered the prototype of our
forensic identification system to
the Guardia Civil in 2000 Since
then several pioneering
research groups ndashof which we
are proud to be onendash have
gradually improved and
modified the algorithms to
obtain better results Our
products are already now in the
fourth generation of the
technology
Along with the improvements in
accuracy the calculations can
now be done much faster and
with fewer resources Our
earliest call-monitoring systems
with voice biometrics required
fifty times more processors
than they do today
What advantages does it have
compared to other
identification methods
(fingerprints irishellip)
The various biometric models
are not in competition but
complement each other in a
multi-factor authentication
environment When we come
near a person we use all our
FINTECH SERIE middot FEBRUARY 2016 middot wwwcentrodeinnovacionbbvacomen
ldquosensorsrdquo to identify them their
faces their way of walking
their voice and so on In the
same way in the future people
will be automatically identified
using all the possibilities
available on the devices
Sometimes some will be more
important than others Voice is
very important in situations of
remote authentication when
you cant see or touch the
person ndashin telephone
communications for example
Are they more efficient
The sensors needed to make a
voice authentication are
microphones and today we all
carry these around in our
pocket (in our cellphones) or
we have them on our
computer In terms of cost this
makes it much more efficient
than a fingerprint or iris
recognition which needs a
special sensor requiring special
care And its also the most
natural system Everyones used
to talking to speaking on the
phone Its not something thats
considered intrusive unlike
taking a photo of your eye or
taking your fingerprint
Whats more were increasingly
using our voices to interact with
our surroundings In the future
well communicate with a whole
range of devices in our cars
and homes and at work by
using our voices to give
commands and obtain
information Using our same
voice as a way of authenticating
ourselves will become more
natural than using any other
biometric model Well identify
ourselves with the same
phrases we use when we to talk
with virtual assistants
What can it provide for a
bank
Voice biometric applications in
the world of finance are only
just beginning Perhaps the
application with the best return
on investment today is fraud
detection in call centers The
use of ldquoblacklistsrdquo of voices of
people who have committed
fraud can be used to filter
incoming calls This is having a
massive effect on preventingthe
proliferation of organized gangs
who used the call center to
commit fraud or obtain
information with which to
commit fraud through other
channels
FINTECH SERIE middot FEBRUARY 2016 middot wwwcentrodeinnovacionbbvacomen
Voice authentication also
reduces fraud and makes the
user experience on the
telephone or mobile channel
much faster and more user-
friendly
How
Multichannel systems can be
deployed that combine
authentication in the Banks
different channels telephone
mobile Internet video-chat
social networks and so on It
can also be used to sign
documents using the voice
Customers can use their voice
to accept a contract and this
voice converted into a
voiceprint can be used as the
ldquosignaturerdquo for the document
This way a customer can open
a bank account via only the
Internet andor telephone
channel without having to go to
the branch office
Of course many of these
advances must pass through
regulatory filters and be
accompanied by other security
and control systems
In the case of a physical
presence a handwritten
signature is normally used as
authentication when making a
transaction And in many cases
it includes the comparison of an
identity document with a
photograph These procedures
also have their weak points
when the comparison is done
by people who are not expert in
handwriting or in document
recognition As far as I know
theres no comparison of false
positives between physical
presence systems and
biometric models but Im sure
there would be no surprises
and particularly in the case of
very well planned attacks
Is it very difficult to copy a
voice
Voices can be recorded and
reproduced later in attempt to
imitate the legitimate user This
is why the measures to prevent
these recorded attacks (anti-
spoofing in biometric slang) are
very important in any
implementation that does not
involve an agent speaking to
the person on a direct line
Agnitio has several patented
systems that guard against
these attacks using very
sophisticated technology that
detects the
recordingreproduction cycle
and compares it to the direct
use of the voice
It is impossible today to
generate a voice which so
closely resembles someones
voice that it can deceive the
system Both professional
imitators and voice synthesis
systems can easily be detected
by our software
FINTECH SERIE middot FEBRUARY 2016 middot wwwcentrodeinnovacionbbvacomen
Do you believe that man-in-the-middle attacks
are more dangerous for voice systems and is it
easier to obtain a voice sample than one from
another part of the body
MITM attacks are normally related with encrypted
communication between two systems This occurs
in voice biometrics when the communication takes
place via the IP network and not the telephone
channel In these cases protecting the voiceprint
by correctly encrypting it is an additional problem
to be resolved by systems integrators to avoid the
possibility of these voiceprints (and digital or facial
biometrics) being intercepted and changed This is
why voice biometrics ndashin particular encrypted
voiceprints (not the voice itself)ndash is neither more
nor less likely to suffer attack by MITM
However the voice is often used as authentication
via a different channel (out of band authentication)
Using a brief telephone call on a previously agreed
phone number and making the user say a certain
phrase is the most convenient and secure way of
making an out-of-band authentication
FINTECH SERIE middot FEBRUARY 2016 middot wwwcentrodeinnovacionbbvacomen
Will biometric systems do
away with passwords
Im convinced that the end of
passwords is in sight at least as
a basic authentication tool
Companies banks and online
retailers canrsquot go on torturing
their customers by making
them remember secure
passwords that need to be
frequently changed Today an
average user can have as many
as 60 passwords with 20 being
the average in a European
country Some studies indicate
that ten of them are used on a
daily basis And of course to
keep them safe they have to be
long contain uppercase and
lowercase symbols and be
frequently changed Thats
impossible to maintain
Theres no doubt that
biometrics is one of the ways in
which this problem is going to
be resolved It will be assisted
by other security technologies
to ensure that the entire
process is secure and that the
security is sufficiently
dimensioned for the information
its protecting Im convinced
that sooner or later well
perhaps have just a few very
secure passwords that we wont
need to use very often and
which will only be used as
backup systems in extreme
cases
What are the advantages of
biometric verification by voice
compared to passwords
Passwords are impossible to
remember when theyre even
remotely secure And theyre
also easy to steal or find out
They have the worst of both
worlds theyre inconvenient
and not very secure Multimodal
biometric verification is both
convenient for the user and
extremely secure It can be
flexibly adapted to the
environment
FINTECH SERIE middot FEBRUARY 2016 middot wwwcentrodeinnovacionbbvacomen
Which country is the most
advanced
The use of voice biometrics in
governments is more advanced
in Europe than in the United
States for several historic
reasons However the
implementation in the financial
sector is more advanced in the
United States
What are the next challenges
for Agnitio
The most important challenge
for any company at the
forefront of a technology sector
is to stay ahead ndashlike the Queen
of Hearts in Alice in
Wonderland who had to keep
running to stay in the same
place In other words the
challenge is to continue with
the work of research into new
algorithms in order to improve
both the accuracy speed and
the size of the systems Agnitio
is now in the fourth generation
of voice identification
technology Were now working
on the fifth generation which
will be much more robust
against environmental noise
have spectacular improvements
in accuracy in short speech
and be able to learn to
recognize users very fast over
time These are some of the
requirements for authentication
in the cloud services that wersquoll
be seeing on a massive scale in
the coming years
FINTECH SERIE middot FEBRUARY 2016 middot wwwcentrodeinnovacionbbvacomen
The bank and First Direct offer their 15 million customers
biometric banking software for accessing their accounts
online and by phone using their fingerprint or voice
04HSBCs bid forbiometrics
Fifteen million customers identified through their voice and
fingerprints This is the goal set by HSBC which is extending its
bid for biometrics in the United Kingdom HSBC and First Direct
customers who use telephone banking and mobile apps can
access their accounts through a system that checks their voice
and fingerprint The bank believes that the software will help it
address the issue of forgotten passwords
FINTECH SERIE middot FEBRUARY 2016 middot wwwcentrodeinnovacionbbvacomen
Francesca McDonagh HSBCs
retail banking and wealth
management manager
describes the decision as ldquothe
largest deployment of voice-
based biometric security
technology in the United
Kingdomrdquo ldquoThe launch of voice
and touch ID makes it even
easier for customers to access
their bank accounts using the
safest form of password the
bodyrdquo she concludes in this
article published in The
Guardian
First Direct will start registering
customers for voice
identification in the coming
weeks and HSBC will follow suit
in summer Customers who
decide to use this option must
register their ldquovoiceprintrdquo and
will never again have to use a
phone password or PIN
FINTECH SERIE middot FEBRUARY 2016 middot wwwcentrodeinnovacionbbvacomen
The English newspaper mentions other
examples of banks that are embracing
biometrics
Barclays launched its voice recognition software
for its 300000 wealthiest customers in the United
Kingdom in 2013 One year later it said that this
technology had been so successful that it would
extend it to its 12 million retail banking customers
Barclays intends to offer them voice recognition
by the end of this year since ldquoit has been
incredibly popularrdquo among its wealthiest
customers who used to spend 15 minutes
checking their identity and can now do so in
less than ten seconds
Lloyds Banking Group has said that it is
considering including Amazon Echo in its online
banking services a voice-controlled hands-free
device that is only available in the United States
The bank claims that 360000 blind or visually
impaired people in the United Kingdom could
benefit from voice recognition
FINTECH SERIE middot FEBRUARY 2016 middot wwwcentrodeinnovacionbbvacomen
Royal Bank of Scotland says that
touch ID has been a ldquogreat
successrdquo following its launch last
year with over one million
customers now logging in using
their fingerprint
In the United States several banks
have tested biometric technology
and Citi has around 250000
customers who use voice
recognition authentication
Touch ID is available on all Apple
mobile devices for HSBC and First
Direct Customers have to
download the mobile banking app
and follow the instructions for
associating their fingerprint
And yes it works even if you have
a cold Joe Gordon HSBCs
customer contact manager in the
United Kingdom says that voice
recognition works even if you
have a cold In the BBC Today
program he claimed that ldquowe will
be able to deal with people with a
cold or with slight handicaps
Things like the size of our mouth
or the vocal tract dont change
Neither does the rhythm or
accent when a person has a
slight coldrdquo
Nuance Communication is
supplying the voice biometric
technology that cross checks
more than 100 unique
identifiers including behavioral
features such as speed rhythm
and pronunciation and physical
aspects like the shape of the
larynx the nasal tract and the
nasal passage
FINTECH SERIE middot FEBRERY 2016 middot wwwcentrodeinnovacionbbvacomen
According to a YouGov survey
published by HSBC the British
believe that along with voice
and touch the heart beats the
hair and even the saliva could
be used as passwords in the
future According to the survey
38 of people use the same
password for most of their
accounts while 55 say that
they rarely update their
passwords 78 of the 2038
adults surveyed were sure that
their body was the only thing
that could be used as a
password and 74 felt that it
would become the default
password in the future
FINTECH SERIE middot FEBRUARY 2016 middot wwwcentrodeinnovacionbbvacomen
The boom of biometric devices
is gaining momentum
positioning themselves firmly in
the security monitoring and
control solutions market
05INFOGRAPHY
Biometrictechnology
Share in Pinterest
FINTECH SERIE middot FEBRUARY 2016 middot wwwcentrodeinnovacionbbvacomen
Determines an individualacutes
identity The biometric data
are compared against all
the data held in the
database
Confirms an individualacutes
identity by comparing a
simple with one or more
templates obtained
previously
Identification vs Verification
Perceptions of authentication
61
Belive that biometric authentication is
as safe as passwordsWould like to use digital fingerprint
scanning to Access their accounts
40
FINTECH SERIE middot FEBRUARY 2016 middot wwwcentrodeinnovacionbbvacomen
Biometric solutions
Iris
Facerecognition
Voicerecognition
Fingerprint
Signature
Vascular
IrisCaptures an infrared picture of the personacutes eye which isprocessed to obtain the spectral information of the iris
Face recognitionThe faceacutes features are obtained using a low-resolution camera
Voice recognitionThe voiceacutes features are based on the shape and size of the appendages used to creacuteate the sound
FingerprintA map of the fingerprintacutes peaks and troughs is registeredusing optical termal andor ultrasound technology
SignatureRecording of the act of signing on a piece of paper or tablet The movement not the image is recorded
VascularAn infrared image of the skin is taken to detect the veinsand a map of their distribution is obtained
FINTECH SERIE middot FEBRUARY 2016 middot wwwcentrodeinnovacionbbvacomen
Applications on the market
Uses of biometric authentication
Travel17
Electronics20
Banking $ finance25
Government15
Defens12
Others11
Digital print
Fingerprint
Iris
Face recognition
Others
1
30
9
59
1
FINTECH SERIE middot FEBRUARY 2016 middot wwwcentrodeinnovacionbbvacomen
BBVA Innovation Center
creates the Fintech Serie By
Innovation Edge to keep
informed about the financial
innovation trends with its
milestones analysis cases
studie interviews with experts
and infographics to display the
data that describe each of
these trends
SERIEFINTECH BY innovation edge
share
LASTEST ISSUES
Easy quickly and very efficiently
are the keys of personal
management tools (PFM)
The advance of bitcoin and
payments
The takeoff of emerging companies
in a competitive world
A new concept in the world
of lsquostartupsrsquo
Regiacutestratepara estar al diacutea de las uacuteltimas tendencias
centrodeinnovacionbbvacom
centrodeinnovacionbbvacominnovation-edge
siacuteguenos
BBVA no se hace responsable de las opiniones publicadas en este documento
The security problem is
growing as highlighted in this
article by BBVA Research
According to the for Strategic
and International Studies (CSIS)
the cost of cybercrime to the
global economy is about $450
billion In addition the
Ponemon Institute reports that
in 2013 43 of US companies
experienced a breach of data
security Individually the
greatest risks are identity theft
and loss of confidential
information The CSIS estimates
that there were 800 million
stolen personal records in the
same year worldwide In South
Korea for example in a
month over 70 of people
aged between 15 and 65 had
their personal data stolen and
their credit cards were put at
risk In the US according to a
2012 survey conducted by the
Bureau of Justice Statistics
phishing affected 166 million
people at a cost of $247
billion in financial losses
FINTECH SERIE middot FEBRUARY 2016 middot wwwcentrodeinnovacionbbvacomen
And how can identification be
guaranteed As highlighted by
BBVA Research The regulatory
framework affecting registering
customers in the financial
sector is not completely
homogeneous globally Some
countries prohibit the
registration processes through
digital channels and require a
physical meeting to proceed
with customer identification
and verification of their identity
Moreover in those places
where non face-to-face
contracting is permitted it is
sometimes difficult to
establish mechanisms for
verifying identity in these
digital channels that reveal
unequivocally who the
customer is highlights the
Article
Returning to Millennials and the
previous generation a survey
by Telstraglobal on generations
X and Y (those born between
1966-1976 and 1977-1994
respectively) indicates that
more than half of respondents
rate trust as the most
important factor of choice
when selecting a financial
services provider One in five
people would share their DNA
to help protect their financial
and personal information and
up to one in two people would
be willing to pay for a mobile
identity In addition less than
half are satisfied with their
institutions security more than
a third have experienced
phishing 40 of victims
believed it was the institutions
fault and 65 is likely to leave
the bank as a consequence of
this
2016 promises to be the
breakout year for biometrics
And banks cannot be left
behind
FINTECH SERIE middot FEBREUAY 2016 middot wwwcentrodeinnovacionbbvacomen
Emilio Martiacutenez CEO of Agnitio the company specializing
in voice biometric systems highlights the benefits of
voiceprints for personal authentication
03INTERVIEW
ldquoPasswords are inconvenient and insecure and their end is in sight
FINTECH SERIE middot FEBRUARY 2016 middot wwwcentrodeinnovacionbbvacomen
How did Agnitio start
AGNITIO started in 2004 as a
spin-off from the Madrid
Polytechnic University A
group of the signal treatment
department had worked for
years with the Guardia Civil
police force to develop a voice
biometric system that would
enable them to identify
criminals and terrorists from
their voices This system was
known from other European
police forces and sparked
considerable interest The
founding members negotiated
a contract with the university
for the transfer of the
technology and thats how
AGNITIO came about
Whats the profile of the
employees
92 of the employees are
engineers or graduates in
areas of advanced technology
This is an extremely
technological company with a
very high component of
R+D+i
How many countries do you
operate in and what sector
interests you most or is most
interested in your services
Agnitio has facilities in over 40
countries around the world
The geographical areas where
we have the greatest presence
are eastern Europe Latin
America and the United States
In the US we have a subsidiary
that sells to and supports our
customers in North America
With regard to market
segments our presence is
above all in the government
security sector (police and
intelligence corps and defense
organizations) followed by the
financial sector
FINTECH SERIE middot FEBRUARY 2016 middot wwwcentrodeinnovacionbbvacomen
be identified with an extremely
high degree of accuracy
Do they use complex and
expensive tools
The system is purely software
In other words the voice can
be recorded with any
microphone and theres no
need for any special IT
processing system Normal
servers and computers are
used Whats complex is the
software for processing the
signal ndashhighly complex
mathematical algorithms
efficiently programmed to
respond in fractions of a
second with todays processors
The cost depends on the size
of the project measured in
number of voiceprints that are
to be used andor the number
of parallel processes that our
technology is going to use
What are the features of
biometric voice verification
When someone speaks as well
as the information they transmit
in the form of words the
unique features of their vocal
tract ndashthe larynx the nasal
cavity the palate and so onndash
make an imprint on the sound
waves This voiceprint is
independent of the language
the person is speaking the
phrases theyre saying or the
individuals state of mind Card
technology is capable of
extracting this information and
storing it in the form of a
numerical ldquovoice imprintrdquo When
an unknown person is speaking
on the phone for example that
voice can be compared with
the stored voiceprint and
allows the person speaking to
FINTECH SERIE middot FEBRUARY 2016 middot wwwcentrodeinnovacionbbvacomen
These systems are not
accessible to individual
consumers because of their
cost but are acquired and
implemented by government
organizations and financial
institutions
How has the technology
advanced in this field
The study of voice biometrics
began in the 1990s but it
wasnt until the beginning of the
21st century that we saw the
first systems that could be
efficiently used The UPM
delivered the prototype of our
forensic identification system to
the Guardia Civil in 2000 Since
then several pioneering
research groups ndashof which we
are proud to be onendash have
gradually improved and
modified the algorithms to
obtain better results Our
products are already now in the
fourth generation of the
technology
Along with the improvements in
accuracy the calculations can
now be done much faster and
with fewer resources Our
earliest call-monitoring systems
with voice biometrics required
fifty times more processors
than they do today
What advantages does it have
compared to other
identification methods
(fingerprints irishellip)
The various biometric models
are not in competition but
complement each other in a
multi-factor authentication
environment When we come
near a person we use all our
FINTECH SERIE middot FEBRUARY 2016 middot wwwcentrodeinnovacionbbvacomen
ldquosensorsrdquo to identify them their
faces their way of walking
their voice and so on In the
same way in the future people
will be automatically identified
using all the possibilities
available on the devices
Sometimes some will be more
important than others Voice is
very important in situations of
remote authentication when
you cant see or touch the
person ndashin telephone
communications for example
Are they more efficient
The sensors needed to make a
voice authentication are
microphones and today we all
carry these around in our
pocket (in our cellphones) or
we have them on our
computer In terms of cost this
makes it much more efficient
than a fingerprint or iris
recognition which needs a
special sensor requiring special
care And its also the most
natural system Everyones used
to talking to speaking on the
phone Its not something thats
considered intrusive unlike
taking a photo of your eye or
taking your fingerprint
Whats more were increasingly
using our voices to interact with
our surroundings In the future
well communicate with a whole
range of devices in our cars
and homes and at work by
using our voices to give
commands and obtain
information Using our same
voice as a way of authenticating
ourselves will become more
natural than using any other
biometric model Well identify
ourselves with the same
phrases we use when we to talk
with virtual assistants
What can it provide for a
bank
Voice biometric applications in
the world of finance are only
just beginning Perhaps the
application with the best return
on investment today is fraud
detection in call centers The
use of ldquoblacklistsrdquo of voices of
people who have committed
fraud can be used to filter
incoming calls This is having a
massive effect on preventingthe
proliferation of organized gangs
who used the call center to
commit fraud or obtain
information with which to
commit fraud through other
channels
FINTECH SERIE middot FEBRUARY 2016 middot wwwcentrodeinnovacionbbvacomen
Voice authentication also
reduces fraud and makes the
user experience on the
telephone or mobile channel
much faster and more user-
friendly
How
Multichannel systems can be
deployed that combine
authentication in the Banks
different channels telephone
mobile Internet video-chat
social networks and so on It
can also be used to sign
documents using the voice
Customers can use their voice
to accept a contract and this
voice converted into a
voiceprint can be used as the
ldquosignaturerdquo for the document
This way a customer can open
a bank account via only the
Internet andor telephone
channel without having to go to
the branch office
Of course many of these
advances must pass through
regulatory filters and be
accompanied by other security
and control systems
In the case of a physical
presence a handwritten
signature is normally used as
authentication when making a
transaction And in many cases
it includes the comparison of an
identity document with a
photograph These procedures
also have their weak points
when the comparison is done
by people who are not expert in
handwriting or in document
recognition As far as I know
theres no comparison of false
positives between physical
presence systems and
biometric models but Im sure
there would be no surprises
and particularly in the case of
very well planned attacks
Is it very difficult to copy a
voice
Voices can be recorded and
reproduced later in attempt to
imitate the legitimate user This
is why the measures to prevent
these recorded attacks (anti-
spoofing in biometric slang) are
very important in any
implementation that does not
involve an agent speaking to
the person on a direct line
Agnitio has several patented
systems that guard against
these attacks using very
sophisticated technology that
detects the
recordingreproduction cycle
and compares it to the direct
use of the voice
It is impossible today to
generate a voice which so
closely resembles someones
voice that it can deceive the
system Both professional
imitators and voice synthesis
systems can easily be detected
by our software
FINTECH SERIE middot FEBRUARY 2016 middot wwwcentrodeinnovacionbbvacomen
Do you believe that man-in-the-middle attacks
are more dangerous for voice systems and is it
easier to obtain a voice sample than one from
another part of the body
MITM attacks are normally related with encrypted
communication between two systems This occurs
in voice biometrics when the communication takes
place via the IP network and not the telephone
channel In these cases protecting the voiceprint
by correctly encrypting it is an additional problem
to be resolved by systems integrators to avoid the
possibility of these voiceprints (and digital or facial
biometrics) being intercepted and changed This is
why voice biometrics ndashin particular encrypted
voiceprints (not the voice itself)ndash is neither more
nor less likely to suffer attack by MITM
However the voice is often used as authentication
via a different channel (out of band authentication)
Using a brief telephone call on a previously agreed
phone number and making the user say a certain
phrase is the most convenient and secure way of
making an out-of-band authentication
FINTECH SERIE middot FEBRUARY 2016 middot wwwcentrodeinnovacionbbvacomen
Will biometric systems do
away with passwords
Im convinced that the end of
passwords is in sight at least as
a basic authentication tool
Companies banks and online
retailers canrsquot go on torturing
their customers by making
them remember secure
passwords that need to be
frequently changed Today an
average user can have as many
as 60 passwords with 20 being
the average in a European
country Some studies indicate
that ten of them are used on a
daily basis And of course to
keep them safe they have to be
long contain uppercase and
lowercase symbols and be
frequently changed Thats
impossible to maintain
Theres no doubt that
biometrics is one of the ways in
which this problem is going to
be resolved It will be assisted
by other security technologies
to ensure that the entire
process is secure and that the
security is sufficiently
dimensioned for the information
its protecting Im convinced
that sooner or later well
perhaps have just a few very
secure passwords that we wont
need to use very often and
which will only be used as
backup systems in extreme
cases
What are the advantages of
biometric verification by voice
compared to passwords
Passwords are impossible to
remember when theyre even
remotely secure And theyre
also easy to steal or find out
They have the worst of both
worlds theyre inconvenient
and not very secure Multimodal
biometric verification is both
convenient for the user and
extremely secure It can be
flexibly adapted to the
environment
FINTECH SERIE middot FEBRUARY 2016 middot wwwcentrodeinnovacionbbvacomen
Which country is the most
advanced
The use of voice biometrics in
governments is more advanced
in Europe than in the United
States for several historic
reasons However the
implementation in the financial
sector is more advanced in the
United States
What are the next challenges
for Agnitio
The most important challenge
for any company at the
forefront of a technology sector
is to stay ahead ndashlike the Queen
of Hearts in Alice in
Wonderland who had to keep
running to stay in the same
place In other words the
challenge is to continue with
the work of research into new
algorithms in order to improve
both the accuracy speed and
the size of the systems Agnitio
is now in the fourth generation
of voice identification
technology Were now working
on the fifth generation which
will be much more robust
against environmental noise
have spectacular improvements
in accuracy in short speech
and be able to learn to
recognize users very fast over
time These are some of the
requirements for authentication
in the cloud services that wersquoll
be seeing on a massive scale in
the coming years
FINTECH SERIE middot FEBRUARY 2016 middot wwwcentrodeinnovacionbbvacomen
The bank and First Direct offer their 15 million customers
biometric banking software for accessing their accounts
online and by phone using their fingerprint or voice
04HSBCs bid forbiometrics
Fifteen million customers identified through their voice and
fingerprints This is the goal set by HSBC which is extending its
bid for biometrics in the United Kingdom HSBC and First Direct
customers who use telephone banking and mobile apps can
access their accounts through a system that checks their voice
and fingerprint The bank believes that the software will help it
address the issue of forgotten passwords
FINTECH SERIE middot FEBRUARY 2016 middot wwwcentrodeinnovacionbbvacomen
Francesca McDonagh HSBCs
retail banking and wealth
management manager
describes the decision as ldquothe
largest deployment of voice-
based biometric security
technology in the United
Kingdomrdquo ldquoThe launch of voice
and touch ID makes it even
easier for customers to access
their bank accounts using the
safest form of password the
bodyrdquo she concludes in this
article published in The
Guardian
First Direct will start registering
customers for voice
identification in the coming
weeks and HSBC will follow suit
in summer Customers who
decide to use this option must
register their ldquovoiceprintrdquo and
will never again have to use a
phone password or PIN
FINTECH SERIE middot FEBRUARY 2016 middot wwwcentrodeinnovacionbbvacomen
The English newspaper mentions other
examples of banks that are embracing
biometrics
Barclays launched its voice recognition software
for its 300000 wealthiest customers in the United
Kingdom in 2013 One year later it said that this
technology had been so successful that it would
extend it to its 12 million retail banking customers
Barclays intends to offer them voice recognition
by the end of this year since ldquoit has been
incredibly popularrdquo among its wealthiest
customers who used to spend 15 minutes
checking their identity and can now do so in
less than ten seconds
Lloyds Banking Group has said that it is
considering including Amazon Echo in its online
banking services a voice-controlled hands-free
device that is only available in the United States
The bank claims that 360000 blind or visually
impaired people in the United Kingdom could
benefit from voice recognition
FINTECH SERIE middot FEBRUARY 2016 middot wwwcentrodeinnovacionbbvacomen
Royal Bank of Scotland says that
touch ID has been a ldquogreat
successrdquo following its launch last
year with over one million
customers now logging in using
their fingerprint
In the United States several banks
have tested biometric technology
and Citi has around 250000
customers who use voice
recognition authentication
Touch ID is available on all Apple
mobile devices for HSBC and First
Direct Customers have to
download the mobile banking app
and follow the instructions for
associating their fingerprint
And yes it works even if you have
a cold Joe Gordon HSBCs
customer contact manager in the
United Kingdom says that voice
recognition works even if you
have a cold In the BBC Today
program he claimed that ldquowe will
be able to deal with people with a
cold or with slight handicaps
Things like the size of our mouth
or the vocal tract dont change
Neither does the rhythm or
accent when a person has a
slight coldrdquo
Nuance Communication is
supplying the voice biometric
technology that cross checks
more than 100 unique
identifiers including behavioral
features such as speed rhythm
and pronunciation and physical
aspects like the shape of the
larynx the nasal tract and the
nasal passage
FINTECH SERIE middot FEBRERY 2016 middot wwwcentrodeinnovacionbbvacomen
According to a YouGov survey
published by HSBC the British
believe that along with voice
and touch the heart beats the
hair and even the saliva could
be used as passwords in the
future According to the survey
38 of people use the same
password for most of their
accounts while 55 say that
they rarely update their
passwords 78 of the 2038
adults surveyed were sure that
their body was the only thing
that could be used as a
password and 74 felt that it
would become the default
password in the future
FINTECH SERIE middot FEBRUARY 2016 middot wwwcentrodeinnovacionbbvacomen
The boom of biometric devices
is gaining momentum
positioning themselves firmly in
the security monitoring and
control solutions market
05INFOGRAPHY
Biometrictechnology
Share in Pinterest
FINTECH SERIE middot FEBRUARY 2016 middot wwwcentrodeinnovacionbbvacomen
Determines an individualacutes
identity The biometric data
are compared against all
the data held in the
database
Confirms an individualacutes
identity by comparing a
simple with one or more
templates obtained
previously
Identification vs Verification
Perceptions of authentication
61
Belive that biometric authentication is
as safe as passwordsWould like to use digital fingerprint
scanning to Access their accounts
40
FINTECH SERIE middot FEBRUARY 2016 middot wwwcentrodeinnovacionbbvacomen
Biometric solutions
Iris
Facerecognition
Voicerecognition
Fingerprint
Signature
Vascular
IrisCaptures an infrared picture of the personacutes eye which isprocessed to obtain the spectral information of the iris
Face recognitionThe faceacutes features are obtained using a low-resolution camera
Voice recognitionThe voiceacutes features are based on the shape and size of the appendages used to creacuteate the sound
FingerprintA map of the fingerprintacutes peaks and troughs is registeredusing optical termal andor ultrasound technology
SignatureRecording of the act of signing on a piece of paper or tablet The movement not the image is recorded
VascularAn infrared image of the skin is taken to detect the veinsand a map of their distribution is obtained
FINTECH SERIE middot FEBRUARY 2016 middot wwwcentrodeinnovacionbbvacomen
Applications on the market
Uses of biometric authentication
Travel17
Electronics20
Banking $ finance25
Government15
Defens12
Others11
Digital print
Fingerprint
Iris
Face recognition
Others
1
30
9
59
1
FINTECH SERIE middot FEBRUARY 2016 middot wwwcentrodeinnovacionbbvacomen
BBVA Innovation Center
creates the Fintech Serie By
Innovation Edge to keep
informed about the financial
innovation trends with its
milestones analysis cases
studie interviews with experts
and infographics to display the
data that describe each of
these trends
SERIEFINTECH BY innovation edge
share
LASTEST ISSUES
Easy quickly and very efficiently
are the keys of personal
management tools (PFM)
The advance of bitcoin and
payments
The takeoff of emerging companies
in a competitive world
A new concept in the world
of lsquostartupsrsquo
Regiacutestratepara estar al diacutea de las uacuteltimas tendencias
centrodeinnovacionbbvacom
centrodeinnovacionbbvacominnovation-edge
siacuteguenos
BBVA no se hace responsable de las opiniones publicadas en este documento
And how can identification be
guaranteed As highlighted by
BBVA Research The regulatory
framework affecting registering
customers in the financial
sector is not completely
homogeneous globally Some
countries prohibit the
registration processes through
digital channels and require a
physical meeting to proceed
with customer identification
and verification of their identity
Moreover in those places
where non face-to-face
contracting is permitted it is
sometimes difficult to
establish mechanisms for
verifying identity in these
digital channels that reveal
unequivocally who the
customer is highlights the
Article
Returning to Millennials and the
previous generation a survey
by Telstraglobal on generations
X and Y (those born between
1966-1976 and 1977-1994
respectively) indicates that
more than half of respondents
rate trust as the most
important factor of choice
when selecting a financial
services provider One in five
people would share their DNA
to help protect their financial
and personal information and
up to one in two people would
be willing to pay for a mobile
identity In addition less than
half are satisfied with their
institutions security more than
a third have experienced
phishing 40 of victims
believed it was the institutions
fault and 65 is likely to leave
the bank as a consequence of
this
2016 promises to be the
breakout year for biometrics
And banks cannot be left
behind
FINTECH SERIE middot FEBREUAY 2016 middot wwwcentrodeinnovacionbbvacomen
Emilio Martiacutenez CEO of Agnitio the company specializing
in voice biometric systems highlights the benefits of
voiceprints for personal authentication
03INTERVIEW
ldquoPasswords are inconvenient and insecure and their end is in sight
FINTECH SERIE middot FEBRUARY 2016 middot wwwcentrodeinnovacionbbvacomen
How did Agnitio start
AGNITIO started in 2004 as a
spin-off from the Madrid
Polytechnic University A
group of the signal treatment
department had worked for
years with the Guardia Civil
police force to develop a voice
biometric system that would
enable them to identify
criminals and terrorists from
their voices This system was
known from other European
police forces and sparked
considerable interest The
founding members negotiated
a contract with the university
for the transfer of the
technology and thats how
AGNITIO came about
Whats the profile of the
employees
92 of the employees are
engineers or graduates in
areas of advanced technology
This is an extremely
technological company with a
very high component of
R+D+i
How many countries do you
operate in and what sector
interests you most or is most
interested in your services
Agnitio has facilities in over 40
countries around the world
The geographical areas where
we have the greatest presence
are eastern Europe Latin
America and the United States
In the US we have a subsidiary
that sells to and supports our
customers in North America
With regard to market
segments our presence is
above all in the government
security sector (police and
intelligence corps and defense
organizations) followed by the
financial sector
FINTECH SERIE middot FEBRUARY 2016 middot wwwcentrodeinnovacionbbvacomen
be identified with an extremely
high degree of accuracy
Do they use complex and
expensive tools
The system is purely software
In other words the voice can
be recorded with any
microphone and theres no
need for any special IT
processing system Normal
servers and computers are
used Whats complex is the
software for processing the
signal ndashhighly complex
mathematical algorithms
efficiently programmed to
respond in fractions of a
second with todays processors
The cost depends on the size
of the project measured in
number of voiceprints that are
to be used andor the number
of parallel processes that our
technology is going to use
What are the features of
biometric voice verification
When someone speaks as well
as the information they transmit
in the form of words the
unique features of their vocal
tract ndashthe larynx the nasal
cavity the palate and so onndash
make an imprint on the sound
waves This voiceprint is
independent of the language
the person is speaking the
phrases theyre saying or the
individuals state of mind Card
technology is capable of
extracting this information and
storing it in the form of a
numerical ldquovoice imprintrdquo When
an unknown person is speaking
on the phone for example that
voice can be compared with
the stored voiceprint and
allows the person speaking to
FINTECH SERIE middot FEBRUARY 2016 middot wwwcentrodeinnovacionbbvacomen
These systems are not
accessible to individual
consumers because of their
cost but are acquired and
implemented by government
organizations and financial
institutions
How has the technology
advanced in this field
The study of voice biometrics
began in the 1990s but it
wasnt until the beginning of the
21st century that we saw the
first systems that could be
efficiently used The UPM
delivered the prototype of our
forensic identification system to
the Guardia Civil in 2000 Since
then several pioneering
research groups ndashof which we
are proud to be onendash have
gradually improved and
modified the algorithms to
obtain better results Our
products are already now in the
fourth generation of the
technology
Along with the improvements in
accuracy the calculations can
now be done much faster and
with fewer resources Our
earliest call-monitoring systems
with voice biometrics required
fifty times more processors
than they do today
What advantages does it have
compared to other
identification methods
(fingerprints irishellip)
The various biometric models
are not in competition but
complement each other in a
multi-factor authentication
environment When we come
near a person we use all our
FINTECH SERIE middot FEBRUARY 2016 middot wwwcentrodeinnovacionbbvacomen
ldquosensorsrdquo to identify them their
faces their way of walking
their voice and so on In the
same way in the future people
will be automatically identified
using all the possibilities
available on the devices
Sometimes some will be more
important than others Voice is
very important in situations of
remote authentication when
you cant see or touch the
person ndashin telephone
communications for example
Are they more efficient
The sensors needed to make a
voice authentication are
microphones and today we all
carry these around in our
pocket (in our cellphones) or
we have them on our
computer In terms of cost this
makes it much more efficient
than a fingerprint or iris
recognition which needs a
special sensor requiring special
care And its also the most
natural system Everyones used
to talking to speaking on the
phone Its not something thats
considered intrusive unlike
taking a photo of your eye or
taking your fingerprint
Whats more were increasingly
using our voices to interact with
our surroundings In the future
well communicate with a whole
range of devices in our cars
and homes and at work by
using our voices to give
commands and obtain
information Using our same
voice as a way of authenticating
ourselves will become more
natural than using any other
biometric model Well identify
ourselves with the same
phrases we use when we to talk
with virtual assistants
What can it provide for a
bank
Voice biometric applications in
the world of finance are only
just beginning Perhaps the
application with the best return
on investment today is fraud
detection in call centers The
use of ldquoblacklistsrdquo of voices of
people who have committed
fraud can be used to filter
incoming calls This is having a
massive effect on preventingthe
proliferation of organized gangs
who used the call center to
commit fraud or obtain
information with which to
commit fraud through other
channels
FINTECH SERIE middot FEBRUARY 2016 middot wwwcentrodeinnovacionbbvacomen
Voice authentication also
reduces fraud and makes the
user experience on the
telephone or mobile channel
much faster and more user-
friendly
How
Multichannel systems can be
deployed that combine
authentication in the Banks
different channels telephone
mobile Internet video-chat
social networks and so on It
can also be used to sign
documents using the voice
Customers can use their voice
to accept a contract and this
voice converted into a
voiceprint can be used as the
ldquosignaturerdquo for the document
This way a customer can open
a bank account via only the
Internet andor telephone
channel without having to go to
the branch office
Of course many of these
advances must pass through
regulatory filters and be
accompanied by other security
and control systems
In the case of a physical
presence a handwritten
signature is normally used as
authentication when making a
transaction And in many cases
it includes the comparison of an
identity document with a
photograph These procedures
also have their weak points
when the comparison is done
by people who are not expert in
handwriting or in document
recognition As far as I know
theres no comparison of false
positives between physical
presence systems and
biometric models but Im sure
there would be no surprises
and particularly in the case of
very well planned attacks
Is it very difficult to copy a
voice
Voices can be recorded and
reproduced later in attempt to
imitate the legitimate user This
is why the measures to prevent
these recorded attacks (anti-
spoofing in biometric slang) are
very important in any
implementation that does not
involve an agent speaking to
the person on a direct line
Agnitio has several patented
systems that guard against
these attacks using very
sophisticated technology that
detects the
recordingreproduction cycle
and compares it to the direct
use of the voice
It is impossible today to
generate a voice which so
closely resembles someones
voice that it can deceive the
system Both professional
imitators and voice synthesis
systems can easily be detected
by our software
FINTECH SERIE middot FEBRUARY 2016 middot wwwcentrodeinnovacionbbvacomen
Do you believe that man-in-the-middle attacks
are more dangerous for voice systems and is it
easier to obtain a voice sample than one from
another part of the body
MITM attacks are normally related with encrypted
communication between two systems This occurs
in voice biometrics when the communication takes
place via the IP network and not the telephone
channel In these cases protecting the voiceprint
by correctly encrypting it is an additional problem
to be resolved by systems integrators to avoid the
possibility of these voiceprints (and digital or facial
biometrics) being intercepted and changed This is
why voice biometrics ndashin particular encrypted
voiceprints (not the voice itself)ndash is neither more
nor less likely to suffer attack by MITM
However the voice is often used as authentication
via a different channel (out of band authentication)
Using a brief telephone call on a previously agreed
phone number and making the user say a certain
phrase is the most convenient and secure way of
making an out-of-band authentication
FINTECH SERIE middot FEBRUARY 2016 middot wwwcentrodeinnovacionbbvacomen
Will biometric systems do
away with passwords
Im convinced that the end of
passwords is in sight at least as
a basic authentication tool
Companies banks and online
retailers canrsquot go on torturing
their customers by making
them remember secure
passwords that need to be
frequently changed Today an
average user can have as many
as 60 passwords with 20 being
the average in a European
country Some studies indicate
that ten of them are used on a
daily basis And of course to
keep them safe they have to be
long contain uppercase and
lowercase symbols and be
frequently changed Thats
impossible to maintain
Theres no doubt that
biometrics is one of the ways in
which this problem is going to
be resolved It will be assisted
by other security technologies
to ensure that the entire
process is secure and that the
security is sufficiently
dimensioned for the information
its protecting Im convinced
that sooner or later well
perhaps have just a few very
secure passwords that we wont
need to use very often and
which will only be used as
backup systems in extreme
cases
What are the advantages of
biometric verification by voice
compared to passwords
Passwords are impossible to
remember when theyre even
remotely secure And theyre
also easy to steal or find out
They have the worst of both
worlds theyre inconvenient
and not very secure Multimodal
biometric verification is both
convenient for the user and
extremely secure It can be
flexibly adapted to the
environment
FINTECH SERIE middot FEBRUARY 2016 middot wwwcentrodeinnovacionbbvacomen
Which country is the most
advanced
The use of voice biometrics in
governments is more advanced
in Europe than in the United
States for several historic
reasons However the
implementation in the financial
sector is more advanced in the
United States
What are the next challenges
for Agnitio
The most important challenge
for any company at the
forefront of a technology sector
is to stay ahead ndashlike the Queen
of Hearts in Alice in
Wonderland who had to keep
running to stay in the same
place In other words the
challenge is to continue with
the work of research into new
algorithms in order to improve
both the accuracy speed and
the size of the systems Agnitio
is now in the fourth generation
of voice identification
technology Were now working
on the fifth generation which
will be much more robust
against environmental noise
have spectacular improvements
in accuracy in short speech
and be able to learn to
recognize users very fast over
time These are some of the
requirements for authentication
in the cloud services that wersquoll
be seeing on a massive scale in
the coming years
FINTECH SERIE middot FEBRUARY 2016 middot wwwcentrodeinnovacionbbvacomen
The bank and First Direct offer their 15 million customers
biometric banking software for accessing their accounts
online and by phone using their fingerprint or voice
04HSBCs bid forbiometrics
Fifteen million customers identified through their voice and
fingerprints This is the goal set by HSBC which is extending its
bid for biometrics in the United Kingdom HSBC and First Direct
customers who use telephone banking and mobile apps can
access their accounts through a system that checks their voice
and fingerprint The bank believes that the software will help it
address the issue of forgotten passwords
FINTECH SERIE middot FEBRUARY 2016 middot wwwcentrodeinnovacionbbvacomen
Francesca McDonagh HSBCs
retail banking and wealth
management manager
describes the decision as ldquothe
largest deployment of voice-
based biometric security
technology in the United
Kingdomrdquo ldquoThe launch of voice
and touch ID makes it even
easier for customers to access
their bank accounts using the
safest form of password the
bodyrdquo she concludes in this
article published in The
Guardian
First Direct will start registering
customers for voice
identification in the coming
weeks and HSBC will follow suit
in summer Customers who
decide to use this option must
register their ldquovoiceprintrdquo and
will never again have to use a
phone password or PIN
FINTECH SERIE middot FEBRUARY 2016 middot wwwcentrodeinnovacionbbvacomen
The English newspaper mentions other
examples of banks that are embracing
biometrics
Barclays launched its voice recognition software
for its 300000 wealthiest customers in the United
Kingdom in 2013 One year later it said that this
technology had been so successful that it would
extend it to its 12 million retail banking customers
Barclays intends to offer them voice recognition
by the end of this year since ldquoit has been
incredibly popularrdquo among its wealthiest
customers who used to spend 15 minutes
checking their identity and can now do so in
less than ten seconds
Lloyds Banking Group has said that it is
considering including Amazon Echo in its online
banking services a voice-controlled hands-free
device that is only available in the United States
The bank claims that 360000 blind or visually
impaired people in the United Kingdom could
benefit from voice recognition
FINTECH SERIE middot FEBRUARY 2016 middot wwwcentrodeinnovacionbbvacomen
Royal Bank of Scotland says that
touch ID has been a ldquogreat
successrdquo following its launch last
year with over one million
customers now logging in using
their fingerprint
In the United States several banks
have tested biometric technology
and Citi has around 250000
customers who use voice
recognition authentication
Touch ID is available on all Apple
mobile devices for HSBC and First
Direct Customers have to
download the mobile banking app
and follow the instructions for
associating their fingerprint
And yes it works even if you have
a cold Joe Gordon HSBCs
customer contact manager in the
United Kingdom says that voice
recognition works even if you
have a cold In the BBC Today
program he claimed that ldquowe will
be able to deal with people with a
cold or with slight handicaps
Things like the size of our mouth
or the vocal tract dont change
Neither does the rhythm or
accent when a person has a
slight coldrdquo
Nuance Communication is
supplying the voice biometric
technology that cross checks
more than 100 unique
identifiers including behavioral
features such as speed rhythm
and pronunciation and physical
aspects like the shape of the
larynx the nasal tract and the
nasal passage
FINTECH SERIE middot FEBRERY 2016 middot wwwcentrodeinnovacionbbvacomen
According to a YouGov survey
published by HSBC the British
believe that along with voice
and touch the heart beats the
hair and even the saliva could
be used as passwords in the
future According to the survey
38 of people use the same
password for most of their
accounts while 55 say that
they rarely update their
passwords 78 of the 2038
adults surveyed were sure that
their body was the only thing
that could be used as a
password and 74 felt that it
would become the default
password in the future
FINTECH SERIE middot FEBRUARY 2016 middot wwwcentrodeinnovacionbbvacomen
The boom of biometric devices
is gaining momentum
positioning themselves firmly in
the security monitoring and
control solutions market
05INFOGRAPHY
Biometrictechnology
Share in Pinterest
FINTECH SERIE middot FEBRUARY 2016 middot wwwcentrodeinnovacionbbvacomen
Determines an individualacutes
identity The biometric data
are compared against all
the data held in the
database
Confirms an individualacutes
identity by comparing a
simple with one or more
templates obtained
previously
Identification vs Verification
Perceptions of authentication
61
Belive that biometric authentication is
as safe as passwordsWould like to use digital fingerprint
scanning to Access their accounts
40
FINTECH SERIE middot FEBRUARY 2016 middot wwwcentrodeinnovacionbbvacomen
Biometric solutions
Iris
Facerecognition
Voicerecognition
Fingerprint
Signature
Vascular
IrisCaptures an infrared picture of the personacutes eye which isprocessed to obtain the spectral information of the iris
Face recognitionThe faceacutes features are obtained using a low-resolution camera
Voice recognitionThe voiceacutes features are based on the shape and size of the appendages used to creacuteate the sound
FingerprintA map of the fingerprintacutes peaks and troughs is registeredusing optical termal andor ultrasound technology
SignatureRecording of the act of signing on a piece of paper or tablet The movement not the image is recorded
VascularAn infrared image of the skin is taken to detect the veinsand a map of their distribution is obtained
FINTECH SERIE middot FEBRUARY 2016 middot wwwcentrodeinnovacionbbvacomen
Applications on the market
Uses of biometric authentication
Travel17
Electronics20
Banking $ finance25
Government15
Defens12
Others11
Digital print
Fingerprint
Iris
Face recognition
Others
1
30
9
59
1
FINTECH SERIE middot FEBRUARY 2016 middot wwwcentrodeinnovacionbbvacomen
BBVA Innovation Center
creates the Fintech Serie By
Innovation Edge to keep
informed about the financial
innovation trends with its
milestones analysis cases
studie interviews with experts
and infographics to display the
data that describe each of
these trends
SERIEFINTECH BY innovation edge
share
LASTEST ISSUES
Easy quickly and very efficiently
are the keys of personal
management tools (PFM)
The advance of bitcoin and
payments
The takeoff of emerging companies
in a competitive world
A new concept in the world
of lsquostartupsrsquo
Regiacutestratepara estar al diacutea de las uacuteltimas tendencias
centrodeinnovacionbbvacom
centrodeinnovacionbbvacominnovation-edge
siacuteguenos
BBVA no se hace responsable de las opiniones publicadas en este documento
Emilio Martiacutenez CEO of Agnitio the company specializing
in voice biometric systems highlights the benefits of
voiceprints for personal authentication
03INTERVIEW
ldquoPasswords are inconvenient and insecure and their end is in sight
FINTECH SERIE middot FEBRUARY 2016 middot wwwcentrodeinnovacionbbvacomen
How did Agnitio start
AGNITIO started in 2004 as a
spin-off from the Madrid
Polytechnic University A
group of the signal treatment
department had worked for
years with the Guardia Civil
police force to develop a voice
biometric system that would
enable them to identify
criminals and terrorists from
their voices This system was
known from other European
police forces and sparked
considerable interest The
founding members negotiated
a contract with the university
for the transfer of the
technology and thats how
AGNITIO came about
Whats the profile of the
employees
92 of the employees are
engineers or graduates in
areas of advanced technology
This is an extremely
technological company with a
very high component of
R+D+i
How many countries do you
operate in and what sector
interests you most or is most
interested in your services
Agnitio has facilities in over 40
countries around the world
The geographical areas where
we have the greatest presence
are eastern Europe Latin
America and the United States
In the US we have a subsidiary
that sells to and supports our
customers in North America
With regard to market
segments our presence is
above all in the government
security sector (police and
intelligence corps and defense
organizations) followed by the
financial sector
FINTECH SERIE middot FEBRUARY 2016 middot wwwcentrodeinnovacionbbvacomen
be identified with an extremely
high degree of accuracy
Do they use complex and
expensive tools
The system is purely software
In other words the voice can
be recorded with any
microphone and theres no
need for any special IT
processing system Normal
servers and computers are
used Whats complex is the
software for processing the
signal ndashhighly complex
mathematical algorithms
efficiently programmed to
respond in fractions of a
second with todays processors
The cost depends on the size
of the project measured in
number of voiceprints that are
to be used andor the number
of parallel processes that our
technology is going to use
What are the features of
biometric voice verification
When someone speaks as well
as the information they transmit
in the form of words the
unique features of their vocal
tract ndashthe larynx the nasal
cavity the palate and so onndash
make an imprint on the sound
waves This voiceprint is
independent of the language
the person is speaking the
phrases theyre saying or the
individuals state of mind Card
technology is capable of
extracting this information and
storing it in the form of a
numerical ldquovoice imprintrdquo When
an unknown person is speaking
on the phone for example that
voice can be compared with
the stored voiceprint and
allows the person speaking to
FINTECH SERIE middot FEBRUARY 2016 middot wwwcentrodeinnovacionbbvacomen
These systems are not
accessible to individual
consumers because of their
cost but are acquired and
implemented by government
organizations and financial
institutions
How has the technology
advanced in this field
The study of voice biometrics
began in the 1990s but it
wasnt until the beginning of the
21st century that we saw the
first systems that could be
efficiently used The UPM
delivered the prototype of our
forensic identification system to
the Guardia Civil in 2000 Since
then several pioneering
research groups ndashof which we
are proud to be onendash have
gradually improved and
modified the algorithms to
obtain better results Our
products are already now in the
fourth generation of the
technology
Along with the improvements in
accuracy the calculations can
now be done much faster and
with fewer resources Our
earliest call-monitoring systems
with voice biometrics required
fifty times more processors
than they do today
What advantages does it have
compared to other
identification methods
(fingerprints irishellip)
The various biometric models
are not in competition but
complement each other in a
multi-factor authentication
environment When we come
near a person we use all our
FINTECH SERIE middot FEBRUARY 2016 middot wwwcentrodeinnovacionbbvacomen
ldquosensorsrdquo to identify them their
faces their way of walking
their voice and so on In the
same way in the future people
will be automatically identified
using all the possibilities
available on the devices
Sometimes some will be more
important than others Voice is
very important in situations of
remote authentication when
you cant see or touch the
person ndashin telephone
communications for example
Are they more efficient
The sensors needed to make a
voice authentication are
microphones and today we all
carry these around in our
pocket (in our cellphones) or
we have them on our
computer In terms of cost this
makes it much more efficient
than a fingerprint or iris
recognition which needs a
special sensor requiring special
care And its also the most
natural system Everyones used
to talking to speaking on the
phone Its not something thats
considered intrusive unlike
taking a photo of your eye or
taking your fingerprint
Whats more were increasingly
using our voices to interact with
our surroundings In the future
well communicate with a whole
range of devices in our cars
and homes and at work by
using our voices to give
commands and obtain
information Using our same
voice as a way of authenticating
ourselves will become more
natural than using any other
biometric model Well identify
ourselves with the same
phrases we use when we to talk
with virtual assistants
What can it provide for a
bank
Voice biometric applications in
the world of finance are only
just beginning Perhaps the
application with the best return
on investment today is fraud
detection in call centers The
use of ldquoblacklistsrdquo of voices of
people who have committed
fraud can be used to filter
incoming calls This is having a
massive effect on preventingthe
proliferation of organized gangs
who used the call center to
commit fraud or obtain
information with which to
commit fraud through other
channels
FINTECH SERIE middot FEBRUARY 2016 middot wwwcentrodeinnovacionbbvacomen
Voice authentication also
reduces fraud and makes the
user experience on the
telephone or mobile channel
much faster and more user-
friendly
How
Multichannel systems can be
deployed that combine
authentication in the Banks
different channels telephone
mobile Internet video-chat
social networks and so on It
can also be used to sign
documents using the voice
Customers can use their voice
to accept a contract and this
voice converted into a
voiceprint can be used as the
ldquosignaturerdquo for the document
This way a customer can open
a bank account via only the
Internet andor telephone
channel without having to go to
the branch office
Of course many of these
advances must pass through
regulatory filters and be
accompanied by other security
and control systems
In the case of a physical
presence a handwritten
signature is normally used as
authentication when making a
transaction And in many cases
it includes the comparison of an
identity document with a
photograph These procedures
also have their weak points
when the comparison is done
by people who are not expert in
handwriting or in document
recognition As far as I know
theres no comparison of false
positives between physical
presence systems and
biometric models but Im sure
there would be no surprises
and particularly in the case of
very well planned attacks
Is it very difficult to copy a
voice
Voices can be recorded and
reproduced later in attempt to
imitate the legitimate user This
is why the measures to prevent
these recorded attacks (anti-
spoofing in biometric slang) are
very important in any
implementation that does not
involve an agent speaking to
the person on a direct line
Agnitio has several patented
systems that guard against
these attacks using very
sophisticated technology that
detects the
recordingreproduction cycle
and compares it to the direct
use of the voice
It is impossible today to
generate a voice which so
closely resembles someones
voice that it can deceive the
system Both professional
imitators and voice synthesis
systems can easily be detected
by our software
FINTECH SERIE middot FEBRUARY 2016 middot wwwcentrodeinnovacionbbvacomen
Do you believe that man-in-the-middle attacks
are more dangerous for voice systems and is it
easier to obtain a voice sample than one from
another part of the body
MITM attacks are normally related with encrypted
communication between two systems This occurs
in voice biometrics when the communication takes
place via the IP network and not the telephone
channel In these cases protecting the voiceprint
by correctly encrypting it is an additional problem
to be resolved by systems integrators to avoid the
possibility of these voiceprints (and digital or facial
biometrics) being intercepted and changed This is
why voice biometrics ndashin particular encrypted
voiceprints (not the voice itself)ndash is neither more
nor less likely to suffer attack by MITM
However the voice is often used as authentication
via a different channel (out of band authentication)
Using a brief telephone call on a previously agreed
phone number and making the user say a certain
phrase is the most convenient and secure way of
making an out-of-band authentication
FINTECH SERIE middot FEBRUARY 2016 middot wwwcentrodeinnovacionbbvacomen
Will biometric systems do
away with passwords
Im convinced that the end of
passwords is in sight at least as
a basic authentication tool
Companies banks and online
retailers canrsquot go on torturing
their customers by making
them remember secure
passwords that need to be
frequently changed Today an
average user can have as many
as 60 passwords with 20 being
the average in a European
country Some studies indicate
that ten of them are used on a
daily basis And of course to
keep them safe they have to be
long contain uppercase and
lowercase symbols and be
frequently changed Thats
impossible to maintain
Theres no doubt that
biometrics is one of the ways in
which this problem is going to
be resolved It will be assisted
by other security technologies
to ensure that the entire
process is secure and that the
security is sufficiently
dimensioned for the information
its protecting Im convinced
that sooner or later well
perhaps have just a few very
secure passwords that we wont
need to use very often and
which will only be used as
backup systems in extreme
cases
What are the advantages of
biometric verification by voice
compared to passwords
Passwords are impossible to
remember when theyre even
remotely secure And theyre
also easy to steal or find out
They have the worst of both
worlds theyre inconvenient
and not very secure Multimodal
biometric verification is both
convenient for the user and
extremely secure It can be
flexibly adapted to the
environment
FINTECH SERIE middot FEBRUARY 2016 middot wwwcentrodeinnovacionbbvacomen
Which country is the most
advanced
The use of voice biometrics in
governments is more advanced
in Europe than in the United
States for several historic
reasons However the
implementation in the financial
sector is more advanced in the
United States
What are the next challenges
for Agnitio
The most important challenge
for any company at the
forefront of a technology sector
is to stay ahead ndashlike the Queen
of Hearts in Alice in
Wonderland who had to keep
running to stay in the same
place In other words the
challenge is to continue with
the work of research into new
algorithms in order to improve
both the accuracy speed and
the size of the systems Agnitio
is now in the fourth generation
of voice identification
technology Were now working
on the fifth generation which
will be much more robust
against environmental noise
have spectacular improvements
in accuracy in short speech
and be able to learn to
recognize users very fast over
time These are some of the
requirements for authentication
in the cloud services that wersquoll
be seeing on a massive scale in
the coming years
FINTECH SERIE middot FEBRUARY 2016 middot wwwcentrodeinnovacionbbvacomen
The bank and First Direct offer their 15 million customers
biometric banking software for accessing their accounts
online and by phone using their fingerprint or voice
04HSBCs bid forbiometrics
Fifteen million customers identified through their voice and
fingerprints This is the goal set by HSBC which is extending its
bid for biometrics in the United Kingdom HSBC and First Direct
customers who use telephone banking and mobile apps can
access their accounts through a system that checks their voice
and fingerprint The bank believes that the software will help it
address the issue of forgotten passwords
FINTECH SERIE middot FEBRUARY 2016 middot wwwcentrodeinnovacionbbvacomen
Francesca McDonagh HSBCs
retail banking and wealth
management manager
describes the decision as ldquothe
largest deployment of voice-
based biometric security
technology in the United
Kingdomrdquo ldquoThe launch of voice
and touch ID makes it even
easier for customers to access
their bank accounts using the
safest form of password the
bodyrdquo she concludes in this
article published in The
Guardian
First Direct will start registering
customers for voice
identification in the coming
weeks and HSBC will follow suit
in summer Customers who
decide to use this option must
register their ldquovoiceprintrdquo and
will never again have to use a
phone password or PIN
FINTECH SERIE middot FEBRUARY 2016 middot wwwcentrodeinnovacionbbvacomen
The English newspaper mentions other
examples of banks that are embracing
biometrics
Barclays launched its voice recognition software
for its 300000 wealthiest customers in the United
Kingdom in 2013 One year later it said that this
technology had been so successful that it would
extend it to its 12 million retail banking customers
Barclays intends to offer them voice recognition
by the end of this year since ldquoit has been
incredibly popularrdquo among its wealthiest
customers who used to spend 15 minutes
checking their identity and can now do so in
less than ten seconds
Lloyds Banking Group has said that it is
considering including Amazon Echo in its online
banking services a voice-controlled hands-free
device that is only available in the United States
The bank claims that 360000 blind or visually
impaired people in the United Kingdom could
benefit from voice recognition
FINTECH SERIE middot FEBRUARY 2016 middot wwwcentrodeinnovacionbbvacomen
Royal Bank of Scotland says that
touch ID has been a ldquogreat
successrdquo following its launch last
year with over one million
customers now logging in using
their fingerprint
In the United States several banks
have tested biometric technology
and Citi has around 250000
customers who use voice
recognition authentication
Touch ID is available on all Apple
mobile devices for HSBC and First
Direct Customers have to
download the mobile banking app
and follow the instructions for
associating their fingerprint
And yes it works even if you have
a cold Joe Gordon HSBCs
customer contact manager in the
United Kingdom says that voice
recognition works even if you
have a cold In the BBC Today
program he claimed that ldquowe will
be able to deal with people with a
cold or with slight handicaps
Things like the size of our mouth
or the vocal tract dont change
Neither does the rhythm or
accent when a person has a
slight coldrdquo
Nuance Communication is
supplying the voice biometric
technology that cross checks
more than 100 unique
identifiers including behavioral
features such as speed rhythm
and pronunciation and physical
aspects like the shape of the
larynx the nasal tract and the
nasal passage
FINTECH SERIE middot FEBRERY 2016 middot wwwcentrodeinnovacionbbvacomen
According to a YouGov survey
published by HSBC the British
believe that along with voice
and touch the heart beats the
hair and even the saliva could
be used as passwords in the
future According to the survey
38 of people use the same
password for most of their
accounts while 55 say that
they rarely update their
passwords 78 of the 2038
adults surveyed were sure that
their body was the only thing
that could be used as a
password and 74 felt that it
would become the default
password in the future
FINTECH SERIE middot FEBRUARY 2016 middot wwwcentrodeinnovacionbbvacomen
The boom of biometric devices
is gaining momentum
positioning themselves firmly in
the security monitoring and
control solutions market
05INFOGRAPHY
Biometrictechnology
Share in Pinterest
FINTECH SERIE middot FEBRUARY 2016 middot wwwcentrodeinnovacionbbvacomen
Determines an individualacutes
identity The biometric data
are compared against all
the data held in the
database
Confirms an individualacutes
identity by comparing a
simple with one or more
templates obtained
previously
Identification vs Verification
Perceptions of authentication
61
Belive that biometric authentication is
as safe as passwordsWould like to use digital fingerprint
scanning to Access their accounts
40
FINTECH SERIE middot FEBRUARY 2016 middot wwwcentrodeinnovacionbbvacomen
Biometric solutions
Iris
Facerecognition
Voicerecognition
Fingerprint
Signature
Vascular
IrisCaptures an infrared picture of the personacutes eye which isprocessed to obtain the spectral information of the iris
Face recognitionThe faceacutes features are obtained using a low-resolution camera
Voice recognitionThe voiceacutes features are based on the shape and size of the appendages used to creacuteate the sound
FingerprintA map of the fingerprintacutes peaks and troughs is registeredusing optical termal andor ultrasound technology
SignatureRecording of the act of signing on a piece of paper or tablet The movement not the image is recorded
VascularAn infrared image of the skin is taken to detect the veinsand a map of their distribution is obtained
FINTECH SERIE middot FEBRUARY 2016 middot wwwcentrodeinnovacionbbvacomen
Applications on the market
Uses of biometric authentication
Travel17
Electronics20
Banking $ finance25
Government15
Defens12
Others11
Digital print
Fingerprint
Iris
Face recognition
Others
1
30
9
59
1
FINTECH SERIE middot FEBRUARY 2016 middot wwwcentrodeinnovacionbbvacomen
BBVA Innovation Center
creates the Fintech Serie By
Innovation Edge to keep
informed about the financial
innovation trends with its
milestones analysis cases
studie interviews with experts
and infographics to display the
data that describe each of
these trends
SERIEFINTECH BY innovation edge
share
LASTEST ISSUES
Easy quickly and very efficiently
are the keys of personal
management tools (PFM)
The advance of bitcoin and
payments
The takeoff of emerging companies
in a competitive world
A new concept in the world
of lsquostartupsrsquo
Regiacutestratepara estar al diacutea de las uacuteltimas tendencias
centrodeinnovacionbbvacom
centrodeinnovacionbbvacominnovation-edge
siacuteguenos
BBVA no se hace responsable de las opiniones publicadas en este documento
How did Agnitio start
AGNITIO started in 2004 as a
spin-off from the Madrid
Polytechnic University A
group of the signal treatment
department had worked for
years with the Guardia Civil
police force to develop a voice
biometric system that would
enable them to identify
criminals and terrorists from
their voices This system was
known from other European
police forces and sparked
considerable interest The
founding members negotiated
a contract with the university
for the transfer of the
technology and thats how
AGNITIO came about
Whats the profile of the
employees
92 of the employees are
engineers or graduates in
areas of advanced technology
This is an extremely
technological company with a
very high component of
R+D+i
How many countries do you
operate in and what sector
interests you most or is most
interested in your services
Agnitio has facilities in over 40
countries around the world
The geographical areas where
we have the greatest presence
are eastern Europe Latin
America and the United States
In the US we have a subsidiary
that sells to and supports our
customers in North America
With regard to market
segments our presence is
above all in the government
security sector (police and
intelligence corps and defense
organizations) followed by the
financial sector
FINTECH SERIE middot FEBRUARY 2016 middot wwwcentrodeinnovacionbbvacomen
be identified with an extremely
high degree of accuracy
Do they use complex and
expensive tools
The system is purely software
In other words the voice can
be recorded with any
microphone and theres no
need for any special IT
processing system Normal
servers and computers are
used Whats complex is the
software for processing the
signal ndashhighly complex
mathematical algorithms
efficiently programmed to
respond in fractions of a
second with todays processors
The cost depends on the size
of the project measured in
number of voiceprints that are
to be used andor the number
of parallel processes that our
technology is going to use
What are the features of
biometric voice verification
When someone speaks as well
as the information they transmit
in the form of words the
unique features of their vocal
tract ndashthe larynx the nasal
cavity the palate and so onndash
make an imprint on the sound
waves This voiceprint is
independent of the language
the person is speaking the
phrases theyre saying or the
individuals state of mind Card
technology is capable of
extracting this information and
storing it in the form of a
numerical ldquovoice imprintrdquo When
an unknown person is speaking
on the phone for example that
voice can be compared with
the stored voiceprint and
allows the person speaking to
FINTECH SERIE middot FEBRUARY 2016 middot wwwcentrodeinnovacionbbvacomen
These systems are not
accessible to individual
consumers because of their
cost but are acquired and
implemented by government
organizations and financial
institutions
How has the technology
advanced in this field
The study of voice biometrics
began in the 1990s but it
wasnt until the beginning of the
21st century that we saw the
first systems that could be
efficiently used The UPM
delivered the prototype of our
forensic identification system to
the Guardia Civil in 2000 Since
then several pioneering
research groups ndashof which we
are proud to be onendash have
gradually improved and
modified the algorithms to
obtain better results Our
products are already now in the
fourth generation of the
technology
Along with the improvements in
accuracy the calculations can
now be done much faster and
with fewer resources Our
earliest call-monitoring systems
with voice biometrics required
fifty times more processors
than they do today
What advantages does it have
compared to other
identification methods
(fingerprints irishellip)
The various biometric models
are not in competition but
complement each other in a
multi-factor authentication
environment When we come
near a person we use all our
FINTECH SERIE middot FEBRUARY 2016 middot wwwcentrodeinnovacionbbvacomen
ldquosensorsrdquo to identify them their
faces their way of walking
their voice and so on In the
same way in the future people
will be automatically identified
using all the possibilities
available on the devices
Sometimes some will be more
important than others Voice is
very important in situations of
remote authentication when
you cant see or touch the
person ndashin telephone
communications for example
Are they more efficient
The sensors needed to make a
voice authentication are
microphones and today we all
carry these around in our
pocket (in our cellphones) or
we have them on our
computer In terms of cost this
makes it much more efficient
than a fingerprint or iris
recognition which needs a
special sensor requiring special
care And its also the most
natural system Everyones used
to talking to speaking on the
phone Its not something thats
considered intrusive unlike
taking a photo of your eye or
taking your fingerprint
Whats more were increasingly
using our voices to interact with
our surroundings In the future
well communicate with a whole
range of devices in our cars
and homes and at work by
using our voices to give
commands and obtain
information Using our same
voice as a way of authenticating
ourselves will become more
natural than using any other
biometric model Well identify
ourselves with the same
phrases we use when we to talk
with virtual assistants
What can it provide for a
bank
Voice biometric applications in
the world of finance are only
just beginning Perhaps the
application with the best return
on investment today is fraud
detection in call centers The
use of ldquoblacklistsrdquo of voices of
people who have committed
fraud can be used to filter
incoming calls This is having a
massive effect on preventingthe
proliferation of organized gangs
who used the call center to
commit fraud or obtain
information with which to
commit fraud through other
channels
FINTECH SERIE middot FEBRUARY 2016 middot wwwcentrodeinnovacionbbvacomen
Voice authentication also
reduces fraud and makes the
user experience on the
telephone or mobile channel
much faster and more user-
friendly
How
Multichannel systems can be
deployed that combine
authentication in the Banks
different channels telephone
mobile Internet video-chat
social networks and so on It
can also be used to sign
documents using the voice
Customers can use their voice
to accept a contract and this
voice converted into a
voiceprint can be used as the
ldquosignaturerdquo for the document
This way a customer can open
a bank account via only the
Internet andor telephone
channel without having to go to
the branch office
Of course many of these
advances must pass through
regulatory filters and be
accompanied by other security
and control systems
In the case of a physical
presence a handwritten
signature is normally used as
authentication when making a
transaction And in many cases
it includes the comparison of an
identity document with a
photograph These procedures
also have their weak points
when the comparison is done
by people who are not expert in
handwriting or in document
recognition As far as I know
theres no comparison of false
positives between physical
presence systems and
biometric models but Im sure
there would be no surprises
and particularly in the case of
very well planned attacks
Is it very difficult to copy a
voice
Voices can be recorded and
reproduced later in attempt to
imitate the legitimate user This
is why the measures to prevent
these recorded attacks (anti-
spoofing in biometric slang) are
very important in any
implementation that does not
involve an agent speaking to
the person on a direct line
Agnitio has several patented
systems that guard against
these attacks using very
sophisticated technology that
detects the
recordingreproduction cycle
and compares it to the direct
use of the voice
It is impossible today to
generate a voice which so
closely resembles someones
voice that it can deceive the
system Both professional
imitators and voice synthesis
systems can easily be detected
by our software
FINTECH SERIE middot FEBRUARY 2016 middot wwwcentrodeinnovacionbbvacomen
Do you believe that man-in-the-middle attacks
are more dangerous for voice systems and is it
easier to obtain a voice sample than one from
another part of the body
MITM attacks are normally related with encrypted
communication between two systems This occurs
in voice biometrics when the communication takes
place via the IP network and not the telephone
channel In these cases protecting the voiceprint
by correctly encrypting it is an additional problem
to be resolved by systems integrators to avoid the
possibility of these voiceprints (and digital or facial
biometrics) being intercepted and changed This is
why voice biometrics ndashin particular encrypted
voiceprints (not the voice itself)ndash is neither more
nor less likely to suffer attack by MITM
However the voice is often used as authentication
via a different channel (out of band authentication)
Using a brief telephone call on a previously agreed
phone number and making the user say a certain
phrase is the most convenient and secure way of
making an out-of-band authentication
FINTECH SERIE middot FEBRUARY 2016 middot wwwcentrodeinnovacionbbvacomen
Will biometric systems do
away with passwords
Im convinced that the end of
passwords is in sight at least as
a basic authentication tool
Companies banks and online
retailers canrsquot go on torturing
their customers by making
them remember secure
passwords that need to be
frequently changed Today an
average user can have as many
as 60 passwords with 20 being
the average in a European
country Some studies indicate
that ten of them are used on a
daily basis And of course to
keep them safe they have to be
long contain uppercase and
lowercase symbols and be
frequently changed Thats
impossible to maintain
Theres no doubt that
biometrics is one of the ways in
which this problem is going to
be resolved It will be assisted
by other security technologies
to ensure that the entire
process is secure and that the
security is sufficiently
dimensioned for the information
its protecting Im convinced
that sooner or later well
perhaps have just a few very
secure passwords that we wont
need to use very often and
which will only be used as
backup systems in extreme
cases
What are the advantages of
biometric verification by voice
compared to passwords
Passwords are impossible to
remember when theyre even
remotely secure And theyre
also easy to steal or find out
They have the worst of both
worlds theyre inconvenient
and not very secure Multimodal
biometric verification is both
convenient for the user and
extremely secure It can be
flexibly adapted to the
environment
FINTECH SERIE middot FEBRUARY 2016 middot wwwcentrodeinnovacionbbvacomen
Which country is the most
advanced
The use of voice biometrics in
governments is more advanced
in Europe than in the United
States for several historic
reasons However the
implementation in the financial
sector is more advanced in the
United States
What are the next challenges
for Agnitio
The most important challenge
for any company at the
forefront of a technology sector
is to stay ahead ndashlike the Queen
of Hearts in Alice in
Wonderland who had to keep
running to stay in the same
place In other words the
challenge is to continue with
the work of research into new
algorithms in order to improve
both the accuracy speed and
the size of the systems Agnitio
is now in the fourth generation
of voice identification
technology Were now working
on the fifth generation which
will be much more robust
against environmental noise
have spectacular improvements
in accuracy in short speech
and be able to learn to
recognize users very fast over
time These are some of the
requirements for authentication
in the cloud services that wersquoll
be seeing on a massive scale in
the coming years
FINTECH SERIE middot FEBRUARY 2016 middot wwwcentrodeinnovacionbbvacomen
The bank and First Direct offer their 15 million customers
biometric banking software for accessing their accounts
online and by phone using their fingerprint or voice
04HSBCs bid forbiometrics
Fifteen million customers identified through their voice and
fingerprints This is the goal set by HSBC which is extending its
bid for biometrics in the United Kingdom HSBC and First Direct
customers who use telephone banking and mobile apps can
access their accounts through a system that checks their voice
and fingerprint The bank believes that the software will help it
address the issue of forgotten passwords
FINTECH SERIE middot FEBRUARY 2016 middot wwwcentrodeinnovacionbbvacomen
Francesca McDonagh HSBCs
retail banking and wealth
management manager
describes the decision as ldquothe
largest deployment of voice-
based biometric security
technology in the United
Kingdomrdquo ldquoThe launch of voice
and touch ID makes it even
easier for customers to access
their bank accounts using the
safest form of password the
bodyrdquo she concludes in this
article published in The
Guardian
First Direct will start registering
customers for voice
identification in the coming
weeks and HSBC will follow suit
in summer Customers who
decide to use this option must
register their ldquovoiceprintrdquo and
will never again have to use a
phone password or PIN
FINTECH SERIE middot FEBRUARY 2016 middot wwwcentrodeinnovacionbbvacomen
The English newspaper mentions other
examples of banks that are embracing
biometrics
Barclays launched its voice recognition software
for its 300000 wealthiest customers in the United
Kingdom in 2013 One year later it said that this
technology had been so successful that it would
extend it to its 12 million retail banking customers
Barclays intends to offer them voice recognition
by the end of this year since ldquoit has been
incredibly popularrdquo among its wealthiest
customers who used to spend 15 minutes
checking their identity and can now do so in
less than ten seconds
Lloyds Banking Group has said that it is
considering including Amazon Echo in its online
banking services a voice-controlled hands-free
device that is only available in the United States
The bank claims that 360000 blind or visually
impaired people in the United Kingdom could
benefit from voice recognition
FINTECH SERIE middot FEBRUARY 2016 middot wwwcentrodeinnovacionbbvacomen
Royal Bank of Scotland says that
touch ID has been a ldquogreat
successrdquo following its launch last
year with over one million
customers now logging in using
their fingerprint
In the United States several banks
have tested biometric technology
and Citi has around 250000
customers who use voice
recognition authentication
Touch ID is available on all Apple
mobile devices for HSBC and First
Direct Customers have to
download the mobile banking app
and follow the instructions for
associating their fingerprint
And yes it works even if you have
a cold Joe Gordon HSBCs
customer contact manager in the
United Kingdom says that voice
recognition works even if you
have a cold In the BBC Today
program he claimed that ldquowe will
be able to deal with people with a
cold or with slight handicaps
Things like the size of our mouth
or the vocal tract dont change
Neither does the rhythm or
accent when a person has a
slight coldrdquo
Nuance Communication is
supplying the voice biometric
technology that cross checks
more than 100 unique
identifiers including behavioral
features such as speed rhythm
and pronunciation and physical
aspects like the shape of the
larynx the nasal tract and the
nasal passage
FINTECH SERIE middot FEBRERY 2016 middot wwwcentrodeinnovacionbbvacomen
According to a YouGov survey
published by HSBC the British
believe that along with voice
and touch the heart beats the
hair and even the saliva could
be used as passwords in the
future According to the survey
38 of people use the same
password for most of their
accounts while 55 say that
they rarely update their
passwords 78 of the 2038
adults surveyed were sure that
their body was the only thing
that could be used as a
password and 74 felt that it
would become the default
password in the future
FINTECH SERIE middot FEBRUARY 2016 middot wwwcentrodeinnovacionbbvacomen
The boom of biometric devices
is gaining momentum
positioning themselves firmly in
the security monitoring and
control solutions market
05INFOGRAPHY
Biometrictechnology
Share in Pinterest
FINTECH SERIE middot FEBRUARY 2016 middot wwwcentrodeinnovacionbbvacomen
Determines an individualacutes
identity The biometric data
are compared against all
the data held in the
database
Confirms an individualacutes
identity by comparing a
simple with one or more
templates obtained
previously
Identification vs Verification
Perceptions of authentication
61
Belive that biometric authentication is
as safe as passwordsWould like to use digital fingerprint
scanning to Access their accounts
40
FINTECH SERIE middot FEBRUARY 2016 middot wwwcentrodeinnovacionbbvacomen
Biometric solutions
Iris
Facerecognition
Voicerecognition
Fingerprint
Signature
Vascular
IrisCaptures an infrared picture of the personacutes eye which isprocessed to obtain the spectral information of the iris
Face recognitionThe faceacutes features are obtained using a low-resolution camera
Voice recognitionThe voiceacutes features are based on the shape and size of the appendages used to creacuteate the sound
FingerprintA map of the fingerprintacutes peaks and troughs is registeredusing optical termal andor ultrasound technology
SignatureRecording of the act of signing on a piece of paper or tablet The movement not the image is recorded
VascularAn infrared image of the skin is taken to detect the veinsand a map of their distribution is obtained
FINTECH SERIE middot FEBRUARY 2016 middot wwwcentrodeinnovacionbbvacomen
Applications on the market
Uses of biometric authentication
Travel17
Electronics20
Banking $ finance25
Government15
Defens12
Others11
Digital print
Fingerprint
Iris
Face recognition
Others
1
30
9
59
1
FINTECH SERIE middot FEBRUARY 2016 middot wwwcentrodeinnovacionbbvacomen
BBVA Innovation Center
creates the Fintech Serie By
Innovation Edge to keep
informed about the financial
innovation trends with its
milestones analysis cases
studie interviews with experts
and infographics to display the
data that describe each of
these trends
SERIEFINTECH BY innovation edge
share
LASTEST ISSUES
Easy quickly and very efficiently
are the keys of personal
management tools (PFM)
The advance of bitcoin and
payments
The takeoff of emerging companies
in a competitive world
A new concept in the world
of lsquostartupsrsquo
Regiacutestratepara estar al diacutea de las uacuteltimas tendencias
centrodeinnovacionbbvacom
centrodeinnovacionbbvacominnovation-edge
siacuteguenos
BBVA no se hace responsable de las opiniones publicadas en este documento
be identified with an extremely
high degree of accuracy
Do they use complex and
expensive tools
The system is purely software
In other words the voice can
be recorded with any
microphone and theres no
need for any special IT
processing system Normal
servers and computers are
used Whats complex is the
software for processing the
signal ndashhighly complex
mathematical algorithms
efficiently programmed to
respond in fractions of a
second with todays processors
The cost depends on the size
of the project measured in
number of voiceprints that are
to be used andor the number
of parallel processes that our
technology is going to use
What are the features of
biometric voice verification
When someone speaks as well
as the information they transmit
in the form of words the
unique features of their vocal
tract ndashthe larynx the nasal
cavity the palate and so onndash
make an imprint on the sound
waves This voiceprint is
independent of the language
the person is speaking the
phrases theyre saying or the
individuals state of mind Card
technology is capable of
extracting this information and
storing it in the form of a
numerical ldquovoice imprintrdquo When
an unknown person is speaking
on the phone for example that
voice can be compared with
the stored voiceprint and
allows the person speaking to
FINTECH SERIE middot FEBRUARY 2016 middot wwwcentrodeinnovacionbbvacomen
These systems are not
accessible to individual
consumers because of their
cost but are acquired and
implemented by government
organizations and financial
institutions
How has the technology
advanced in this field
The study of voice biometrics
began in the 1990s but it
wasnt until the beginning of the
21st century that we saw the
first systems that could be
efficiently used The UPM
delivered the prototype of our
forensic identification system to
the Guardia Civil in 2000 Since
then several pioneering
research groups ndashof which we
are proud to be onendash have
gradually improved and
modified the algorithms to
obtain better results Our
products are already now in the
fourth generation of the
technology
Along with the improvements in
accuracy the calculations can
now be done much faster and
with fewer resources Our
earliest call-monitoring systems
with voice biometrics required
fifty times more processors
than they do today
What advantages does it have
compared to other
identification methods
(fingerprints irishellip)
The various biometric models
are not in competition but
complement each other in a
multi-factor authentication
environment When we come
near a person we use all our
FINTECH SERIE middot FEBRUARY 2016 middot wwwcentrodeinnovacionbbvacomen
ldquosensorsrdquo to identify them their
faces their way of walking
their voice and so on In the
same way in the future people
will be automatically identified
using all the possibilities
available on the devices
Sometimes some will be more
important than others Voice is
very important in situations of
remote authentication when
you cant see or touch the
person ndashin telephone
communications for example
Are they more efficient
The sensors needed to make a
voice authentication are
microphones and today we all
carry these around in our
pocket (in our cellphones) or
we have them on our
computer In terms of cost this
makes it much more efficient
than a fingerprint or iris
recognition which needs a
special sensor requiring special
care And its also the most
natural system Everyones used
to talking to speaking on the
phone Its not something thats
considered intrusive unlike
taking a photo of your eye or
taking your fingerprint
Whats more were increasingly
using our voices to interact with
our surroundings In the future
well communicate with a whole
range of devices in our cars
and homes and at work by
using our voices to give
commands and obtain
information Using our same
voice as a way of authenticating
ourselves will become more
natural than using any other
biometric model Well identify
ourselves with the same
phrases we use when we to talk
with virtual assistants
What can it provide for a
bank
Voice biometric applications in
the world of finance are only
just beginning Perhaps the
application with the best return
on investment today is fraud
detection in call centers The
use of ldquoblacklistsrdquo of voices of
people who have committed
fraud can be used to filter
incoming calls This is having a
massive effect on preventingthe
proliferation of organized gangs
who used the call center to
commit fraud or obtain
information with which to
commit fraud through other
channels
FINTECH SERIE middot FEBRUARY 2016 middot wwwcentrodeinnovacionbbvacomen
Voice authentication also
reduces fraud and makes the
user experience on the
telephone or mobile channel
much faster and more user-
friendly
How
Multichannel systems can be
deployed that combine
authentication in the Banks
different channels telephone
mobile Internet video-chat
social networks and so on It
can also be used to sign
documents using the voice
Customers can use their voice
to accept a contract and this
voice converted into a
voiceprint can be used as the
ldquosignaturerdquo for the document
This way a customer can open
a bank account via only the
Internet andor telephone
channel without having to go to
the branch office
Of course many of these
advances must pass through
regulatory filters and be
accompanied by other security
and control systems
In the case of a physical
presence a handwritten
signature is normally used as
authentication when making a
transaction And in many cases
it includes the comparison of an
identity document with a
photograph These procedures
also have their weak points
when the comparison is done
by people who are not expert in
handwriting or in document
recognition As far as I know
theres no comparison of false
positives between physical
presence systems and
biometric models but Im sure
there would be no surprises
and particularly in the case of
very well planned attacks
Is it very difficult to copy a
voice
Voices can be recorded and
reproduced later in attempt to
imitate the legitimate user This
is why the measures to prevent
these recorded attacks (anti-
spoofing in biometric slang) are
very important in any
implementation that does not
involve an agent speaking to
the person on a direct line
Agnitio has several patented
systems that guard against
these attacks using very
sophisticated technology that
detects the
recordingreproduction cycle
and compares it to the direct
use of the voice
It is impossible today to
generate a voice which so
closely resembles someones
voice that it can deceive the
system Both professional
imitators and voice synthesis
systems can easily be detected
by our software
FINTECH SERIE middot FEBRUARY 2016 middot wwwcentrodeinnovacionbbvacomen
Do you believe that man-in-the-middle attacks
are more dangerous for voice systems and is it
easier to obtain a voice sample than one from
another part of the body
MITM attacks are normally related with encrypted
communication between two systems This occurs
in voice biometrics when the communication takes
place via the IP network and not the telephone
channel In these cases protecting the voiceprint
by correctly encrypting it is an additional problem
to be resolved by systems integrators to avoid the
possibility of these voiceprints (and digital or facial
biometrics) being intercepted and changed This is
why voice biometrics ndashin particular encrypted
voiceprints (not the voice itself)ndash is neither more
nor less likely to suffer attack by MITM
However the voice is often used as authentication
via a different channel (out of band authentication)
Using a brief telephone call on a previously agreed
phone number and making the user say a certain
phrase is the most convenient and secure way of
making an out-of-band authentication
FINTECH SERIE middot FEBRUARY 2016 middot wwwcentrodeinnovacionbbvacomen
Will biometric systems do
away with passwords
Im convinced that the end of
passwords is in sight at least as
a basic authentication tool
Companies banks and online
retailers canrsquot go on torturing
their customers by making
them remember secure
passwords that need to be
frequently changed Today an
average user can have as many
as 60 passwords with 20 being
the average in a European
country Some studies indicate
that ten of them are used on a
daily basis And of course to
keep them safe they have to be
long contain uppercase and
lowercase symbols and be
frequently changed Thats
impossible to maintain
Theres no doubt that
biometrics is one of the ways in
which this problem is going to
be resolved It will be assisted
by other security technologies
to ensure that the entire
process is secure and that the
security is sufficiently
dimensioned for the information
its protecting Im convinced
that sooner or later well
perhaps have just a few very
secure passwords that we wont
need to use very often and
which will only be used as
backup systems in extreme
cases
What are the advantages of
biometric verification by voice
compared to passwords
Passwords are impossible to
remember when theyre even
remotely secure And theyre
also easy to steal or find out
They have the worst of both
worlds theyre inconvenient
and not very secure Multimodal
biometric verification is both
convenient for the user and
extremely secure It can be
flexibly adapted to the
environment
FINTECH SERIE middot FEBRUARY 2016 middot wwwcentrodeinnovacionbbvacomen
Which country is the most
advanced
The use of voice biometrics in
governments is more advanced
in Europe than in the United
States for several historic
reasons However the
implementation in the financial
sector is more advanced in the
United States
What are the next challenges
for Agnitio
The most important challenge
for any company at the
forefront of a technology sector
is to stay ahead ndashlike the Queen
of Hearts in Alice in
Wonderland who had to keep
running to stay in the same
place In other words the
challenge is to continue with
the work of research into new
algorithms in order to improve
both the accuracy speed and
the size of the systems Agnitio
is now in the fourth generation
of voice identification
technology Were now working
on the fifth generation which
will be much more robust
against environmental noise
have spectacular improvements
in accuracy in short speech
and be able to learn to
recognize users very fast over
time These are some of the
requirements for authentication
in the cloud services that wersquoll
be seeing on a massive scale in
the coming years
FINTECH SERIE middot FEBRUARY 2016 middot wwwcentrodeinnovacionbbvacomen
The bank and First Direct offer their 15 million customers
biometric banking software for accessing their accounts
online and by phone using their fingerprint or voice
04HSBCs bid forbiometrics
Fifteen million customers identified through their voice and
fingerprints This is the goal set by HSBC which is extending its
bid for biometrics in the United Kingdom HSBC and First Direct
customers who use telephone banking and mobile apps can
access their accounts through a system that checks their voice
and fingerprint The bank believes that the software will help it
address the issue of forgotten passwords
FINTECH SERIE middot FEBRUARY 2016 middot wwwcentrodeinnovacionbbvacomen
Francesca McDonagh HSBCs
retail banking and wealth
management manager
describes the decision as ldquothe
largest deployment of voice-
based biometric security
technology in the United
Kingdomrdquo ldquoThe launch of voice
and touch ID makes it even
easier for customers to access
their bank accounts using the
safest form of password the
bodyrdquo she concludes in this
article published in The
Guardian
First Direct will start registering
customers for voice
identification in the coming
weeks and HSBC will follow suit
in summer Customers who
decide to use this option must
register their ldquovoiceprintrdquo and
will never again have to use a
phone password or PIN
FINTECH SERIE middot FEBRUARY 2016 middot wwwcentrodeinnovacionbbvacomen
The English newspaper mentions other
examples of banks that are embracing
biometrics
Barclays launched its voice recognition software
for its 300000 wealthiest customers in the United
Kingdom in 2013 One year later it said that this
technology had been so successful that it would
extend it to its 12 million retail banking customers
Barclays intends to offer them voice recognition
by the end of this year since ldquoit has been
incredibly popularrdquo among its wealthiest
customers who used to spend 15 minutes
checking their identity and can now do so in
less than ten seconds
Lloyds Banking Group has said that it is
considering including Amazon Echo in its online
banking services a voice-controlled hands-free
device that is only available in the United States
The bank claims that 360000 blind or visually
impaired people in the United Kingdom could
benefit from voice recognition
FINTECH SERIE middot FEBRUARY 2016 middot wwwcentrodeinnovacionbbvacomen
Royal Bank of Scotland says that
touch ID has been a ldquogreat
successrdquo following its launch last
year with over one million
customers now logging in using
their fingerprint
In the United States several banks
have tested biometric technology
and Citi has around 250000
customers who use voice
recognition authentication
Touch ID is available on all Apple
mobile devices for HSBC and First
Direct Customers have to
download the mobile banking app
and follow the instructions for
associating their fingerprint
And yes it works even if you have
a cold Joe Gordon HSBCs
customer contact manager in the
United Kingdom says that voice
recognition works even if you
have a cold In the BBC Today
program he claimed that ldquowe will
be able to deal with people with a
cold or with slight handicaps
Things like the size of our mouth
or the vocal tract dont change
Neither does the rhythm or
accent when a person has a
slight coldrdquo
Nuance Communication is
supplying the voice biometric
technology that cross checks
more than 100 unique
identifiers including behavioral
features such as speed rhythm
and pronunciation and physical
aspects like the shape of the
larynx the nasal tract and the
nasal passage
FINTECH SERIE middot FEBRERY 2016 middot wwwcentrodeinnovacionbbvacomen
According to a YouGov survey
published by HSBC the British
believe that along with voice
and touch the heart beats the
hair and even the saliva could
be used as passwords in the
future According to the survey
38 of people use the same
password for most of their
accounts while 55 say that
they rarely update their
passwords 78 of the 2038
adults surveyed were sure that
their body was the only thing
that could be used as a
password and 74 felt that it
would become the default
password in the future
FINTECH SERIE middot FEBRUARY 2016 middot wwwcentrodeinnovacionbbvacomen
The boom of biometric devices
is gaining momentum
positioning themselves firmly in
the security monitoring and
control solutions market
05INFOGRAPHY
Biometrictechnology
Share in Pinterest
FINTECH SERIE middot FEBRUARY 2016 middot wwwcentrodeinnovacionbbvacomen
Determines an individualacutes
identity The biometric data
are compared against all
the data held in the
database
Confirms an individualacutes
identity by comparing a
simple with one or more
templates obtained
previously
Identification vs Verification
Perceptions of authentication
61
Belive that biometric authentication is
as safe as passwordsWould like to use digital fingerprint
scanning to Access their accounts
40
FINTECH SERIE middot FEBRUARY 2016 middot wwwcentrodeinnovacionbbvacomen
Biometric solutions
Iris
Facerecognition
Voicerecognition
Fingerprint
Signature
Vascular
IrisCaptures an infrared picture of the personacutes eye which isprocessed to obtain the spectral information of the iris
Face recognitionThe faceacutes features are obtained using a low-resolution camera
Voice recognitionThe voiceacutes features are based on the shape and size of the appendages used to creacuteate the sound
FingerprintA map of the fingerprintacutes peaks and troughs is registeredusing optical termal andor ultrasound technology
SignatureRecording of the act of signing on a piece of paper or tablet The movement not the image is recorded
VascularAn infrared image of the skin is taken to detect the veinsand a map of their distribution is obtained
FINTECH SERIE middot FEBRUARY 2016 middot wwwcentrodeinnovacionbbvacomen
Applications on the market
Uses of biometric authentication
Travel17
Electronics20
Banking $ finance25
Government15
Defens12
Others11
Digital print
Fingerprint
Iris
Face recognition
Others
1
30
9
59
1
FINTECH SERIE middot FEBRUARY 2016 middot wwwcentrodeinnovacionbbvacomen
BBVA Innovation Center
creates the Fintech Serie By
Innovation Edge to keep
informed about the financial
innovation trends with its
milestones analysis cases
studie interviews with experts
and infographics to display the
data that describe each of
these trends
SERIEFINTECH BY innovation edge
share
LASTEST ISSUES
Easy quickly and very efficiently
are the keys of personal
management tools (PFM)
The advance of bitcoin and
payments
The takeoff of emerging companies
in a competitive world
A new concept in the world
of lsquostartupsrsquo
Regiacutestratepara estar al diacutea de las uacuteltimas tendencias
centrodeinnovacionbbvacom
centrodeinnovacionbbvacominnovation-edge
siacuteguenos
BBVA no se hace responsable de las opiniones publicadas en este documento
These systems are not
accessible to individual
consumers because of their
cost but are acquired and
implemented by government
organizations and financial
institutions
How has the technology
advanced in this field
The study of voice biometrics
began in the 1990s but it
wasnt until the beginning of the
21st century that we saw the
first systems that could be
efficiently used The UPM
delivered the prototype of our
forensic identification system to
the Guardia Civil in 2000 Since
then several pioneering
research groups ndashof which we
are proud to be onendash have
gradually improved and
modified the algorithms to
obtain better results Our
products are already now in the
fourth generation of the
technology
Along with the improvements in
accuracy the calculations can
now be done much faster and
with fewer resources Our
earliest call-monitoring systems
with voice biometrics required
fifty times more processors
than they do today
What advantages does it have
compared to other
identification methods
(fingerprints irishellip)
The various biometric models
are not in competition but
complement each other in a
multi-factor authentication
environment When we come
near a person we use all our
FINTECH SERIE middot FEBRUARY 2016 middot wwwcentrodeinnovacionbbvacomen
ldquosensorsrdquo to identify them their
faces their way of walking
their voice and so on In the
same way in the future people
will be automatically identified
using all the possibilities
available on the devices
Sometimes some will be more
important than others Voice is
very important in situations of
remote authentication when
you cant see or touch the
person ndashin telephone
communications for example
Are they more efficient
The sensors needed to make a
voice authentication are
microphones and today we all
carry these around in our
pocket (in our cellphones) or
we have them on our
computer In terms of cost this
makes it much more efficient
than a fingerprint or iris
recognition which needs a
special sensor requiring special
care And its also the most
natural system Everyones used
to talking to speaking on the
phone Its not something thats
considered intrusive unlike
taking a photo of your eye or
taking your fingerprint
Whats more were increasingly
using our voices to interact with
our surroundings In the future
well communicate with a whole
range of devices in our cars
and homes and at work by
using our voices to give
commands and obtain
information Using our same
voice as a way of authenticating
ourselves will become more
natural than using any other
biometric model Well identify
ourselves with the same
phrases we use when we to talk
with virtual assistants
What can it provide for a
bank
Voice biometric applications in
the world of finance are only
just beginning Perhaps the
application with the best return
on investment today is fraud
detection in call centers The
use of ldquoblacklistsrdquo of voices of
people who have committed
fraud can be used to filter
incoming calls This is having a
massive effect on preventingthe
proliferation of organized gangs
who used the call center to
commit fraud or obtain
information with which to
commit fraud through other
channels
FINTECH SERIE middot FEBRUARY 2016 middot wwwcentrodeinnovacionbbvacomen
Voice authentication also
reduces fraud and makes the
user experience on the
telephone or mobile channel
much faster and more user-
friendly
How
Multichannel systems can be
deployed that combine
authentication in the Banks
different channels telephone
mobile Internet video-chat
social networks and so on It
can also be used to sign
documents using the voice
Customers can use their voice
to accept a contract and this
voice converted into a
voiceprint can be used as the
ldquosignaturerdquo for the document
This way a customer can open
a bank account via only the
Internet andor telephone
channel without having to go to
the branch office
Of course many of these
advances must pass through
regulatory filters and be
accompanied by other security
and control systems
In the case of a physical
presence a handwritten
signature is normally used as
authentication when making a
transaction And in many cases
it includes the comparison of an
identity document with a
photograph These procedures
also have their weak points
when the comparison is done
by people who are not expert in
handwriting or in document
recognition As far as I know
theres no comparison of false
positives between physical
presence systems and
biometric models but Im sure
there would be no surprises
and particularly in the case of
very well planned attacks
Is it very difficult to copy a
voice
Voices can be recorded and
reproduced later in attempt to
imitate the legitimate user This
is why the measures to prevent
these recorded attacks (anti-
spoofing in biometric slang) are
very important in any
implementation that does not
involve an agent speaking to
the person on a direct line
Agnitio has several patented
systems that guard against
these attacks using very
sophisticated technology that
detects the
recordingreproduction cycle
and compares it to the direct
use of the voice
It is impossible today to
generate a voice which so
closely resembles someones
voice that it can deceive the
system Both professional
imitators and voice synthesis
systems can easily be detected
by our software
FINTECH SERIE middot FEBRUARY 2016 middot wwwcentrodeinnovacionbbvacomen
Do you believe that man-in-the-middle attacks
are more dangerous for voice systems and is it
easier to obtain a voice sample than one from
another part of the body
MITM attacks are normally related with encrypted
communication between two systems This occurs
in voice biometrics when the communication takes
place via the IP network and not the telephone
channel In these cases protecting the voiceprint
by correctly encrypting it is an additional problem
to be resolved by systems integrators to avoid the
possibility of these voiceprints (and digital or facial
biometrics) being intercepted and changed This is
why voice biometrics ndashin particular encrypted
voiceprints (not the voice itself)ndash is neither more
nor less likely to suffer attack by MITM
However the voice is often used as authentication
via a different channel (out of band authentication)
Using a brief telephone call on a previously agreed
phone number and making the user say a certain
phrase is the most convenient and secure way of
making an out-of-band authentication
FINTECH SERIE middot FEBRUARY 2016 middot wwwcentrodeinnovacionbbvacomen
Will biometric systems do
away with passwords
Im convinced that the end of
passwords is in sight at least as
a basic authentication tool
Companies banks and online
retailers canrsquot go on torturing
their customers by making
them remember secure
passwords that need to be
frequently changed Today an
average user can have as many
as 60 passwords with 20 being
the average in a European
country Some studies indicate
that ten of them are used on a
daily basis And of course to
keep them safe they have to be
long contain uppercase and
lowercase symbols and be
frequently changed Thats
impossible to maintain
Theres no doubt that
biometrics is one of the ways in
which this problem is going to
be resolved It will be assisted
by other security technologies
to ensure that the entire
process is secure and that the
security is sufficiently
dimensioned for the information
its protecting Im convinced
that sooner or later well
perhaps have just a few very
secure passwords that we wont
need to use very often and
which will only be used as
backup systems in extreme
cases
What are the advantages of
biometric verification by voice
compared to passwords
Passwords are impossible to
remember when theyre even
remotely secure And theyre
also easy to steal or find out
They have the worst of both
worlds theyre inconvenient
and not very secure Multimodal
biometric verification is both
convenient for the user and
extremely secure It can be
flexibly adapted to the
environment
FINTECH SERIE middot FEBRUARY 2016 middot wwwcentrodeinnovacionbbvacomen
Which country is the most
advanced
The use of voice biometrics in
governments is more advanced
in Europe than in the United
States for several historic
reasons However the
implementation in the financial
sector is more advanced in the
United States
What are the next challenges
for Agnitio
The most important challenge
for any company at the
forefront of a technology sector
is to stay ahead ndashlike the Queen
of Hearts in Alice in
Wonderland who had to keep
running to stay in the same
place In other words the
challenge is to continue with
the work of research into new
algorithms in order to improve
both the accuracy speed and
the size of the systems Agnitio
is now in the fourth generation
of voice identification
technology Were now working
on the fifth generation which
will be much more robust
against environmental noise
have spectacular improvements
in accuracy in short speech
and be able to learn to
recognize users very fast over
time These are some of the
requirements for authentication
in the cloud services that wersquoll
be seeing on a massive scale in
the coming years
FINTECH SERIE middot FEBRUARY 2016 middot wwwcentrodeinnovacionbbvacomen
The bank and First Direct offer their 15 million customers
biometric banking software for accessing their accounts
online and by phone using their fingerprint or voice
04HSBCs bid forbiometrics
Fifteen million customers identified through their voice and
fingerprints This is the goal set by HSBC which is extending its
bid for biometrics in the United Kingdom HSBC and First Direct
customers who use telephone banking and mobile apps can
access their accounts through a system that checks their voice
and fingerprint The bank believes that the software will help it
address the issue of forgotten passwords
FINTECH SERIE middot FEBRUARY 2016 middot wwwcentrodeinnovacionbbvacomen
Francesca McDonagh HSBCs
retail banking and wealth
management manager
describes the decision as ldquothe
largest deployment of voice-
based biometric security
technology in the United
Kingdomrdquo ldquoThe launch of voice
and touch ID makes it even
easier for customers to access
their bank accounts using the
safest form of password the
bodyrdquo she concludes in this
article published in The
Guardian
First Direct will start registering
customers for voice
identification in the coming
weeks and HSBC will follow suit
in summer Customers who
decide to use this option must
register their ldquovoiceprintrdquo and
will never again have to use a
phone password or PIN
FINTECH SERIE middot FEBRUARY 2016 middot wwwcentrodeinnovacionbbvacomen
The English newspaper mentions other
examples of banks that are embracing
biometrics
Barclays launched its voice recognition software
for its 300000 wealthiest customers in the United
Kingdom in 2013 One year later it said that this
technology had been so successful that it would
extend it to its 12 million retail banking customers
Barclays intends to offer them voice recognition
by the end of this year since ldquoit has been
incredibly popularrdquo among its wealthiest
customers who used to spend 15 minutes
checking their identity and can now do so in
less than ten seconds
Lloyds Banking Group has said that it is
considering including Amazon Echo in its online
banking services a voice-controlled hands-free
device that is only available in the United States
The bank claims that 360000 blind or visually
impaired people in the United Kingdom could
benefit from voice recognition
FINTECH SERIE middot FEBRUARY 2016 middot wwwcentrodeinnovacionbbvacomen
Royal Bank of Scotland says that
touch ID has been a ldquogreat
successrdquo following its launch last
year with over one million
customers now logging in using
their fingerprint
In the United States several banks
have tested biometric technology
and Citi has around 250000
customers who use voice
recognition authentication
Touch ID is available on all Apple
mobile devices for HSBC and First
Direct Customers have to
download the mobile banking app
and follow the instructions for
associating their fingerprint
And yes it works even if you have
a cold Joe Gordon HSBCs
customer contact manager in the
United Kingdom says that voice
recognition works even if you
have a cold In the BBC Today
program he claimed that ldquowe will
be able to deal with people with a
cold or with slight handicaps
Things like the size of our mouth
or the vocal tract dont change
Neither does the rhythm or
accent when a person has a
slight coldrdquo
Nuance Communication is
supplying the voice biometric
technology that cross checks
more than 100 unique
identifiers including behavioral
features such as speed rhythm
and pronunciation and physical
aspects like the shape of the
larynx the nasal tract and the
nasal passage
FINTECH SERIE middot FEBRERY 2016 middot wwwcentrodeinnovacionbbvacomen
According to a YouGov survey
published by HSBC the British
believe that along with voice
and touch the heart beats the
hair and even the saliva could
be used as passwords in the
future According to the survey
38 of people use the same
password for most of their
accounts while 55 say that
they rarely update their
passwords 78 of the 2038
adults surveyed were sure that
their body was the only thing
that could be used as a
password and 74 felt that it
would become the default
password in the future
FINTECH SERIE middot FEBRUARY 2016 middot wwwcentrodeinnovacionbbvacomen
The boom of biometric devices
is gaining momentum
positioning themselves firmly in
the security monitoring and
control solutions market
05INFOGRAPHY
Biometrictechnology
Share in Pinterest
FINTECH SERIE middot FEBRUARY 2016 middot wwwcentrodeinnovacionbbvacomen
Determines an individualacutes
identity The biometric data
are compared against all
the data held in the
database
Confirms an individualacutes
identity by comparing a
simple with one or more
templates obtained
previously
Identification vs Verification
Perceptions of authentication
61
Belive that biometric authentication is
as safe as passwordsWould like to use digital fingerprint
scanning to Access their accounts
40
FINTECH SERIE middot FEBRUARY 2016 middot wwwcentrodeinnovacionbbvacomen
Biometric solutions
Iris
Facerecognition
Voicerecognition
Fingerprint
Signature
Vascular
IrisCaptures an infrared picture of the personacutes eye which isprocessed to obtain the spectral information of the iris
Face recognitionThe faceacutes features are obtained using a low-resolution camera
Voice recognitionThe voiceacutes features are based on the shape and size of the appendages used to creacuteate the sound
FingerprintA map of the fingerprintacutes peaks and troughs is registeredusing optical termal andor ultrasound technology
SignatureRecording of the act of signing on a piece of paper or tablet The movement not the image is recorded
VascularAn infrared image of the skin is taken to detect the veinsand a map of their distribution is obtained
FINTECH SERIE middot FEBRUARY 2016 middot wwwcentrodeinnovacionbbvacomen
Applications on the market
Uses of biometric authentication
Travel17
Electronics20
Banking $ finance25
Government15
Defens12
Others11
Digital print
Fingerprint
Iris
Face recognition
Others
1
30
9
59
1
FINTECH SERIE middot FEBRUARY 2016 middot wwwcentrodeinnovacionbbvacomen
BBVA Innovation Center
creates the Fintech Serie By
Innovation Edge to keep
informed about the financial
innovation trends with its
milestones analysis cases
studie interviews with experts
and infographics to display the
data that describe each of
these trends
SERIEFINTECH BY innovation edge
share
LASTEST ISSUES
Easy quickly and very efficiently
are the keys of personal
management tools (PFM)
The advance of bitcoin and
payments
The takeoff of emerging companies
in a competitive world
A new concept in the world
of lsquostartupsrsquo
Regiacutestratepara estar al diacutea de las uacuteltimas tendencias
centrodeinnovacionbbvacom
centrodeinnovacionbbvacominnovation-edge
siacuteguenos
BBVA no se hace responsable de las opiniones publicadas en este documento
ldquosensorsrdquo to identify them their
faces their way of walking
their voice and so on In the
same way in the future people
will be automatically identified
using all the possibilities
available on the devices
Sometimes some will be more
important than others Voice is
very important in situations of
remote authentication when
you cant see or touch the
person ndashin telephone
communications for example
Are they more efficient
The sensors needed to make a
voice authentication are
microphones and today we all
carry these around in our
pocket (in our cellphones) or
we have them on our
computer In terms of cost this
makes it much more efficient
than a fingerprint or iris
recognition which needs a
special sensor requiring special
care And its also the most
natural system Everyones used
to talking to speaking on the
phone Its not something thats
considered intrusive unlike
taking a photo of your eye or
taking your fingerprint
Whats more were increasingly
using our voices to interact with
our surroundings In the future
well communicate with a whole
range of devices in our cars
and homes and at work by
using our voices to give
commands and obtain
information Using our same
voice as a way of authenticating
ourselves will become more
natural than using any other
biometric model Well identify
ourselves with the same
phrases we use when we to talk
with virtual assistants
What can it provide for a
bank
Voice biometric applications in
the world of finance are only
just beginning Perhaps the
application with the best return
on investment today is fraud
detection in call centers The
use of ldquoblacklistsrdquo of voices of
people who have committed
fraud can be used to filter
incoming calls This is having a
massive effect on preventingthe
proliferation of organized gangs
who used the call center to
commit fraud or obtain
information with which to
commit fraud through other
channels
FINTECH SERIE middot FEBRUARY 2016 middot wwwcentrodeinnovacionbbvacomen
Voice authentication also
reduces fraud and makes the
user experience on the
telephone or mobile channel
much faster and more user-
friendly
How
Multichannel systems can be
deployed that combine
authentication in the Banks
different channels telephone
mobile Internet video-chat
social networks and so on It
can also be used to sign
documents using the voice
Customers can use their voice
to accept a contract and this
voice converted into a
voiceprint can be used as the
ldquosignaturerdquo for the document
This way a customer can open
a bank account via only the
Internet andor telephone
channel without having to go to
the branch office
Of course many of these
advances must pass through
regulatory filters and be
accompanied by other security
and control systems
In the case of a physical
presence a handwritten
signature is normally used as
authentication when making a
transaction And in many cases
it includes the comparison of an
identity document with a
photograph These procedures
also have their weak points
when the comparison is done
by people who are not expert in
handwriting or in document
recognition As far as I know
theres no comparison of false
positives between physical
presence systems and
biometric models but Im sure
there would be no surprises
and particularly in the case of
very well planned attacks
Is it very difficult to copy a
voice
Voices can be recorded and
reproduced later in attempt to
imitate the legitimate user This
is why the measures to prevent
these recorded attacks (anti-
spoofing in biometric slang) are
very important in any
implementation that does not
involve an agent speaking to
the person on a direct line
Agnitio has several patented
systems that guard against
these attacks using very
sophisticated technology that
detects the
recordingreproduction cycle
and compares it to the direct
use of the voice
It is impossible today to
generate a voice which so
closely resembles someones
voice that it can deceive the
system Both professional
imitators and voice synthesis
systems can easily be detected
by our software
FINTECH SERIE middot FEBRUARY 2016 middot wwwcentrodeinnovacionbbvacomen
Do you believe that man-in-the-middle attacks
are more dangerous for voice systems and is it
easier to obtain a voice sample than one from
another part of the body
MITM attacks are normally related with encrypted
communication between two systems This occurs
in voice biometrics when the communication takes
place via the IP network and not the telephone
channel In these cases protecting the voiceprint
by correctly encrypting it is an additional problem
to be resolved by systems integrators to avoid the
possibility of these voiceprints (and digital or facial
biometrics) being intercepted and changed This is
why voice biometrics ndashin particular encrypted
voiceprints (not the voice itself)ndash is neither more
nor less likely to suffer attack by MITM
However the voice is often used as authentication
via a different channel (out of band authentication)
Using a brief telephone call on a previously agreed
phone number and making the user say a certain
phrase is the most convenient and secure way of
making an out-of-band authentication
FINTECH SERIE middot FEBRUARY 2016 middot wwwcentrodeinnovacionbbvacomen
Will biometric systems do
away with passwords
Im convinced that the end of
passwords is in sight at least as
a basic authentication tool
Companies banks and online
retailers canrsquot go on torturing
their customers by making
them remember secure
passwords that need to be
frequently changed Today an
average user can have as many
as 60 passwords with 20 being
the average in a European
country Some studies indicate
that ten of them are used on a
daily basis And of course to
keep them safe they have to be
long contain uppercase and
lowercase symbols and be
frequently changed Thats
impossible to maintain
Theres no doubt that
biometrics is one of the ways in
which this problem is going to
be resolved It will be assisted
by other security technologies
to ensure that the entire
process is secure and that the
security is sufficiently
dimensioned for the information
its protecting Im convinced
that sooner or later well
perhaps have just a few very
secure passwords that we wont
need to use very often and
which will only be used as
backup systems in extreme
cases
What are the advantages of
biometric verification by voice
compared to passwords
Passwords are impossible to
remember when theyre even
remotely secure And theyre
also easy to steal or find out
They have the worst of both
worlds theyre inconvenient
and not very secure Multimodal
biometric verification is both
convenient for the user and
extremely secure It can be
flexibly adapted to the
environment
FINTECH SERIE middot FEBRUARY 2016 middot wwwcentrodeinnovacionbbvacomen
Which country is the most
advanced
The use of voice biometrics in
governments is more advanced
in Europe than in the United
States for several historic
reasons However the
implementation in the financial
sector is more advanced in the
United States
What are the next challenges
for Agnitio
The most important challenge
for any company at the
forefront of a technology sector
is to stay ahead ndashlike the Queen
of Hearts in Alice in
Wonderland who had to keep
running to stay in the same
place In other words the
challenge is to continue with
the work of research into new
algorithms in order to improve
both the accuracy speed and
the size of the systems Agnitio
is now in the fourth generation
of voice identification
technology Were now working
on the fifth generation which
will be much more robust
against environmental noise
have spectacular improvements
in accuracy in short speech
and be able to learn to
recognize users very fast over
time These are some of the
requirements for authentication
in the cloud services that wersquoll
be seeing on a massive scale in
the coming years
FINTECH SERIE middot FEBRUARY 2016 middot wwwcentrodeinnovacionbbvacomen
The bank and First Direct offer their 15 million customers
biometric banking software for accessing their accounts
online and by phone using their fingerprint or voice
04HSBCs bid forbiometrics
Fifteen million customers identified through their voice and
fingerprints This is the goal set by HSBC which is extending its
bid for biometrics in the United Kingdom HSBC and First Direct
customers who use telephone banking and mobile apps can
access their accounts through a system that checks their voice
and fingerprint The bank believes that the software will help it
address the issue of forgotten passwords
FINTECH SERIE middot FEBRUARY 2016 middot wwwcentrodeinnovacionbbvacomen
Francesca McDonagh HSBCs
retail banking and wealth
management manager
describes the decision as ldquothe
largest deployment of voice-
based biometric security
technology in the United
Kingdomrdquo ldquoThe launch of voice
and touch ID makes it even
easier for customers to access
their bank accounts using the
safest form of password the
bodyrdquo she concludes in this
article published in The
Guardian
First Direct will start registering
customers for voice
identification in the coming
weeks and HSBC will follow suit
in summer Customers who
decide to use this option must
register their ldquovoiceprintrdquo and
will never again have to use a
phone password or PIN
FINTECH SERIE middot FEBRUARY 2016 middot wwwcentrodeinnovacionbbvacomen
The English newspaper mentions other
examples of banks that are embracing
biometrics
Barclays launched its voice recognition software
for its 300000 wealthiest customers in the United
Kingdom in 2013 One year later it said that this
technology had been so successful that it would
extend it to its 12 million retail banking customers
Barclays intends to offer them voice recognition
by the end of this year since ldquoit has been
incredibly popularrdquo among its wealthiest
customers who used to spend 15 minutes
checking their identity and can now do so in
less than ten seconds
Lloyds Banking Group has said that it is
considering including Amazon Echo in its online
banking services a voice-controlled hands-free
device that is only available in the United States
The bank claims that 360000 blind or visually
impaired people in the United Kingdom could
benefit from voice recognition
FINTECH SERIE middot FEBRUARY 2016 middot wwwcentrodeinnovacionbbvacomen
Royal Bank of Scotland says that
touch ID has been a ldquogreat
successrdquo following its launch last
year with over one million
customers now logging in using
their fingerprint
In the United States several banks
have tested biometric technology
and Citi has around 250000
customers who use voice
recognition authentication
Touch ID is available on all Apple
mobile devices for HSBC and First
Direct Customers have to
download the mobile banking app
and follow the instructions for
associating their fingerprint
And yes it works even if you have
a cold Joe Gordon HSBCs
customer contact manager in the
United Kingdom says that voice
recognition works even if you
have a cold In the BBC Today
program he claimed that ldquowe will
be able to deal with people with a
cold or with slight handicaps
Things like the size of our mouth
or the vocal tract dont change
Neither does the rhythm or
accent when a person has a
slight coldrdquo
Nuance Communication is
supplying the voice biometric
technology that cross checks
more than 100 unique
identifiers including behavioral
features such as speed rhythm
and pronunciation and physical
aspects like the shape of the
larynx the nasal tract and the
nasal passage
FINTECH SERIE middot FEBRERY 2016 middot wwwcentrodeinnovacionbbvacomen
According to a YouGov survey
published by HSBC the British
believe that along with voice
and touch the heart beats the
hair and even the saliva could
be used as passwords in the
future According to the survey
38 of people use the same
password for most of their
accounts while 55 say that
they rarely update their
passwords 78 of the 2038
adults surveyed were sure that
their body was the only thing
that could be used as a
password and 74 felt that it
would become the default
password in the future
FINTECH SERIE middot FEBRUARY 2016 middot wwwcentrodeinnovacionbbvacomen
The boom of biometric devices
is gaining momentum
positioning themselves firmly in
the security monitoring and
control solutions market
05INFOGRAPHY
Biometrictechnology
Share in Pinterest
FINTECH SERIE middot FEBRUARY 2016 middot wwwcentrodeinnovacionbbvacomen
Determines an individualacutes
identity The biometric data
are compared against all
the data held in the
database
Confirms an individualacutes
identity by comparing a
simple with one or more
templates obtained
previously
Identification vs Verification
Perceptions of authentication
61
Belive that biometric authentication is
as safe as passwordsWould like to use digital fingerprint
scanning to Access their accounts
40
FINTECH SERIE middot FEBRUARY 2016 middot wwwcentrodeinnovacionbbvacomen
Biometric solutions
Iris
Facerecognition
Voicerecognition
Fingerprint
Signature
Vascular
IrisCaptures an infrared picture of the personacutes eye which isprocessed to obtain the spectral information of the iris
Face recognitionThe faceacutes features are obtained using a low-resolution camera
Voice recognitionThe voiceacutes features are based on the shape and size of the appendages used to creacuteate the sound
FingerprintA map of the fingerprintacutes peaks and troughs is registeredusing optical termal andor ultrasound technology
SignatureRecording of the act of signing on a piece of paper or tablet The movement not the image is recorded
VascularAn infrared image of the skin is taken to detect the veinsand a map of their distribution is obtained
FINTECH SERIE middot FEBRUARY 2016 middot wwwcentrodeinnovacionbbvacomen
Applications on the market
Uses of biometric authentication
Travel17
Electronics20
Banking $ finance25
Government15
Defens12
Others11
Digital print
Fingerprint
Iris
Face recognition
Others
1
30
9
59
1
FINTECH SERIE middot FEBRUARY 2016 middot wwwcentrodeinnovacionbbvacomen
BBVA Innovation Center
creates the Fintech Serie By
Innovation Edge to keep
informed about the financial
innovation trends with its
milestones analysis cases
studie interviews with experts
and infographics to display the
data that describe each of
these trends
SERIEFINTECH BY innovation edge
share
LASTEST ISSUES
Easy quickly and very efficiently
are the keys of personal
management tools (PFM)
The advance of bitcoin and
payments
The takeoff of emerging companies
in a competitive world
A new concept in the world
of lsquostartupsrsquo
Regiacutestratepara estar al diacutea de las uacuteltimas tendencias
centrodeinnovacionbbvacom
centrodeinnovacionbbvacominnovation-edge
siacuteguenos
BBVA no se hace responsable de las opiniones publicadas en este documento
Voice authentication also
reduces fraud and makes the
user experience on the
telephone or mobile channel
much faster and more user-
friendly
How
Multichannel systems can be
deployed that combine
authentication in the Banks
different channels telephone
mobile Internet video-chat
social networks and so on It
can also be used to sign
documents using the voice
Customers can use their voice
to accept a contract and this
voice converted into a
voiceprint can be used as the
ldquosignaturerdquo for the document
This way a customer can open
a bank account via only the
Internet andor telephone
channel without having to go to
the branch office
Of course many of these
advances must pass through
regulatory filters and be
accompanied by other security
and control systems
In the case of a physical
presence a handwritten
signature is normally used as
authentication when making a
transaction And in many cases
it includes the comparison of an
identity document with a
photograph These procedures
also have their weak points
when the comparison is done
by people who are not expert in
handwriting or in document
recognition As far as I know
theres no comparison of false
positives between physical
presence systems and
biometric models but Im sure
there would be no surprises
and particularly in the case of
very well planned attacks
Is it very difficult to copy a
voice
Voices can be recorded and
reproduced later in attempt to
imitate the legitimate user This
is why the measures to prevent
these recorded attacks (anti-
spoofing in biometric slang) are
very important in any
implementation that does not
involve an agent speaking to
the person on a direct line
Agnitio has several patented
systems that guard against
these attacks using very
sophisticated technology that
detects the
recordingreproduction cycle
and compares it to the direct
use of the voice
It is impossible today to
generate a voice which so
closely resembles someones
voice that it can deceive the
system Both professional
imitators and voice synthesis
systems can easily be detected
by our software
FINTECH SERIE middot FEBRUARY 2016 middot wwwcentrodeinnovacionbbvacomen
Do you believe that man-in-the-middle attacks
are more dangerous for voice systems and is it
easier to obtain a voice sample than one from
another part of the body
MITM attacks are normally related with encrypted
communication between two systems This occurs
in voice biometrics when the communication takes
place via the IP network and not the telephone
channel In these cases protecting the voiceprint
by correctly encrypting it is an additional problem
to be resolved by systems integrators to avoid the
possibility of these voiceprints (and digital or facial
biometrics) being intercepted and changed This is
why voice biometrics ndashin particular encrypted
voiceprints (not the voice itself)ndash is neither more
nor less likely to suffer attack by MITM
However the voice is often used as authentication
via a different channel (out of band authentication)
Using a brief telephone call on a previously agreed
phone number and making the user say a certain
phrase is the most convenient and secure way of
making an out-of-band authentication
FINTECH SERIE middot FEBRUARY 2016 middot wwwcentrodeinnovacionbbvacomen
Will biometric systems do
away with passwords
Im convinced that the end of
passwords is in sight at least as
a basic authentication tool
Companies banks and online
retailers canrsquot go on torturing
their customers by making
them remember secure
passwords that need to be
frequently changed Today an
average user can have as many
as 60 passwords with 20 being
the average in a European
country Some studies indicate
that ten of them are used on a
daily basis And of course to
keep them safe they have to be
long contain uppercase and
lowercase symbols and be
frequently changed Thats
impossible to maintain
Theres no doubt that
biometrics is one of the ways in
which this problem is going to
be resolved It will be assisted
by other security technologies
to ensure that the entire
process is secure and that the
security is sufficiently
dimensioned for the information
its protecting Im convinced
that sooner or later well
perhaps have just a few very
secure passwords that we wont
need to use very often and
which will only be used as
backup systems in extreme
cases
What are the advantages of
biometric verification by voice
compared to passwords
Passwords are impossible to
remember when theyre even
remotely secure And theyre
also easy to steal or find out
They have the worst of both
worlds theyre inconvenient
and not very secure Multimodal
biometric verification is both
convenient for the user and
extremely secure It can be
flexibly adapted to the
environment
FINTECH SERIE middot FEBRUARY 2016 middot wwwcentrodeinnovacionbbvacomen
Which country is the most
advanced
The use of voice biometrics in
governments is more advanced
in Europe than in the United
States for several historic
reasons However the
implementation in the financial
sector is more advanced in the
United States
What are the next challenges
for Agnitio
The most important challenge
for any company at the
forefront of a technology sector
is to stay ahead ndashlike the Queen
of Hearts in Alice in
Wonderland who had to keep
running to stay in the same
place In other words the
challenge is to continue with
the work of research into new
algorithms in order to improve
both the accuracy speed and
the size of the systems Agnitio
is now in the fourth generation
of voice identification
technology Were now working
on the fifth generation which
will be much more robust
against environmental noise
have spectacular improvements
in accuracy in short speech
and be able to learn to
recognize users very fast over
time These are some of the
requirements for authentication
in the cloud services that wersquoll
be seeing on a massive scale in
the coming years
FINTECH SERIE middot FEBRUARY 2016 middot wwwcentrodeinnovacionbbvacomen
The bank and First Direct offer their 15 million customers
biometric banking software for accessing their accounts
online and by phone using their fingerprint or voice
04HSBCs bid forbiometrics
Fifteen million customers identified through their voice and
fingerprints This is the goal set by HSBC which is extending its
bid for biometrics in the United Kingdom HSBC and First Direct
customers who use telephone banking and mobile apps can
access their accounts through a system that checks their voice
and fingerprint The bank believes that the software will help it
address the issue of forgotten passwords
FINTECH SERIE middot FEBRUARY 2016 middot wwwcentrodeinnovacionbbvacomen
Francesca McDonagh HSBCs
retail banking and wealth
management manager
describes the decision as ldquothe
largest deployment of voice-
based biometric security
technology in the United
Kingdomrdquo ldquoThe launch of voice
and touch ID makes it even
easier for customers to access
their bank accounts using the
safest form of password the
bodyrdquo she concludes in this
article published in The
Guardian
First Direct will start registering
customers for voice
identification in the coming
weeks and HSBC will follow suit
in summer Customers who
decide to use this option must
register their ldquovoiceprintrdquo and
will never again have to use a
phone password or PIN
FINTECH SERIE middot FEBRUARY 2016 middot wwwcentrodeinnovacionbbvacomen
The English newspaper mentions other
examples of banks that are embracing
biometrics
Barclays launched its voice recognition software
for its 300000 wealthiest customers in the United
Kingdom in 2013 One year later it said that this
technology had been so successful that it would
extend it to its 12 million retail banking customers
Barclays intends to offer them voice recognition
by the end of this year since ldquoit has been
incredibly popularrdquo among its wealthiest
customers who used to spend 15 minutes
checking their identity and can now do so in
less than ten seconds
Lloyds Banking Group has said that it is
considering including Amazon Echo in its online
banking services a voice-controlled hands-free
device that is only available in the United States
The bank claims that 360000 blind or visually
impaired people in the United Kingdom could
benefit from voice recognition
FINTECH SERIE middot FEBRUARY 2016 middot wwwcentrodeinnovacionbbvacomen
Royal Bank of Scotland says that
touch ID has been a ldquogreat
successrdquo following its launch last
year with over one million
customers now logging in using
their fingerprint
In the United States several banks
have tested biometric technology
and Citi has around 250000
customers who use voice
recognition authentication
Touch ID is available on all Apple
mobile devices for HSBC and First
Direct Customers have to
download the mobile banking app
and follow the instructions for
associating their fingerprint
And yes it works even if you have
a cold Joe Gordon HSBCs
customer contact manager in the
United Kingdom says that voice
recognition works even if you
have a cold In the BBC Today
program he claimed that ldquowe will
be able to deal with people with a
cold or with slight handicaps
Things like the size of our mouth
or the vocal tract dont change
Neither does the rhythm or
accent when a person has a
slight coldrdquo
Nuance Communication is
supplying the voice biometric
technology that cross checks
more than 100 unique
identifiers including behavioral
features such as speed rhythm
and pronunciation and physical
aspects like the shape of the
larynx the nasal tract and the
nasal passage
FINTECH SERIE middot FEBRERY 2016 middot wwwcentrodeinnovacionbbvacomen
According to a YouGov survey
published by HSBC the British
believe that along with voice
and touch the heart beats the
hair and even the saliva could
be used as passwords in the
future According to the survey
38 of people use the same
password for most of their
accounts while 55 say that
they rarely update their
passwords 78 of the 2038
adults surveyed were sure that
their body was the only thing
that could be used as a
password and 74 felt that it
would become the default
password in the future
FINTECH SERIE middot FEBRUARY 2016 middot wwwcentrodeinnovacionbbvacomen
The boom of biometric devices
is gaining momentum
positioning themselves firmly in
the security monitoring and
control solutions market
05INFOGRAPHY
Biometrictechnology
Share in Pinterest
FINTECH SERIE middot FEBRUARY 2016 middot wwwcentrodeinnovacionbbvacomen
Determines an individualacutes
identity The biometric data
are compared against all
the data held in the
database
Confirms an individualacutes
identity by comparing a
simple with one or more
templates obtained
previously
Identification vs Verification
Perceptions of authentication
61
Belive that biometric authentication is
as safe as passwordsWould like to use digital fingerprint
scanning to Access their accounts
40
FINTECH SERIE middot FEBRUARY 2016 middot wwwcentrodeinnovacionbbvacomen
Biometric solutions
Iris
Facerecognition
Voicerecognition
Fingerprint
Signature
Vascular
IrisCaptures an infrared picture of the personacutes eye which isprocessed to obtain the spectral information of the iris
Face recognitionThe faceacutes features are obtained using a low-resolution camera
Voice recognitionThe voiceacutes features are based on the shape and size of the appendages used to creacuteate the sound
FingerprintA map of the fingerprintacutes peaks and troughs is registeredusing optical termal andor ultrasound technology
SignatureRecording of the act of signing on a piece of paper or tablet The movement not the image is recorded
VascularAn infrared image of the skin is taken to detect the veinsand a map of their distribution is obtained
FINTECH SERIE middot FEBRUARY 2016 middot wwwcentrodeinnovacionbbvacomen
Applications on the market
Uses of biometric authentication
Travel17
Electronics20
Banking $ finance25
Government15
Defens12
Others11
Digital print
Fingerprint
Iris
Face recognition
Others
1
30
9
59
1
FINTECH SERIE middot FEBRUARY 2016 middot wwwcentrodeinnovacionbbvacomen
BBVA Innovation Center
creates the Fintech Serie By
Innovation Edge to keep
informed about the financial
innovation trends with its
milestones analysis cases
studie interviews with experts
and infographics to display the
data that describe each of
these trends
SERIEFINTECH BY innovation edge
share
LASTEST ISSUES
Easy quickly and very efficiently
are the keys of personal
management tools (PFM)
The advance of bitcoin and
payments
The takeoff of emerging companies
in a competitive world
A new concept in the world
of lsquostartupsrsquo
Regiacutestratepara estar al diacutea de las uacuteltimas tendencias
centrodeinnovacionbbvacom
centrodeinnovacionbbvacominnovation-edge
siacuteguenos
BBVA no se hace responsable de las opiniones publicadas en este documento
Of course many of these
advances must pass through
regulatory filters and be
accompanied by other security
and control systems
In the case of a physical
presence a handwritten
signature is normally used as
authentication when making a
transaction And in many cases
it includes the comparison of an
identity document with a
photograph These procedures
also have their weak points
when the comparison is done
by people who are not expert in
handwriting or in document
recognition As far as I know
theres no comparison of false
positives between physical
presence systems and
biometric models but Im sure
there would be no surprises
and particularly in the case of
very well planned attacks
Is it very difficult to copy a
voice
Voices can be recorded and
reproduced later in attempt to
imitate the legitimate user This
is why the measures to prevent
these recorded attacks (anti-
spoofing in biometric slang) are
very important in any
implementation that does not
involve an agent speaking to
the person on a direct line
Agnitio has several patented
systems that guard against
these attacks using very
sophisticated technology that
detects the
recordingreproduction cycle
and compares it to the direct
use of the voice
It is impossible today to
generate a voice which so
closely resembles someones
voice that it can deceive the
system Both professional
imitators and voice synthesis
systems can easily be detected
by our software
FINTECH SERIE middot FEBRUARY 2016 middot wwwcentrodeinnovacionbbvacomen
Do you believe that man-in-the-middle attacks
are more dangerous for voice systems and is it
easier to obtain a voice sample than one from
another part of the body
MITM attacks are normally related with encrypted
communication between two systems This occurs
in voice biometrics when the communication takes
place via the IP network and not the telephone
channel In these cases protecting the voiceprint
by correctly encrypting it is an additional problem
to be resolved by systems integrators to avoid the
possibility of these voiceprints (and digital or facial
biometrics) being intercepted and changed This is
why voice biometrics ndashin particular encrypted
voiceprints (not the voice itself)ndash is neither more
nor less likely to suffer attack by MITM
However the voice is often used as authentication
via a different channel (out of band authentication)
Using a brief telephone call on a previously agreed
phone number and making the user say a certain
phrase is the most convenient and secure way of
making an out-of-band authentication
FINTECH SERIE middot FEBRUARY 2016 middot wwwcentrodeinnovacionbbvacomen
Will biometric systems do
away with passwords
Im convinced that the end of
passwords is in sight at least as
a basic authentication tool
Companies banks and online
retailers canrsquot go on torturing
their customers by making
them remember secure
passwords that need to be
frequently changed Today an
average user can have as many
as 60 passwords with 20 being
the average in a European
country Some studies indicate
that ten of them are used on a
daily basis And of course to
keep them safe they have to be
long contain uppercase and
lowercase symbols and be
frequently changed Thats
impossible to maintain
Theres no doubt that
biometrics is one of the ways in
which this problem is going to
be resolved It will be assisted
by other security technologies
to ensure that the entire
process is secure and that the
security is sufficiently
dimensioned for the information
its protecting Im convinced
that sooner or later well
perhaps have just a few very
secure passwords that we wont
need to use very often and
which will only be used as
backup systems in extreme
cases
What are the advantages of
biometric verification by voice
compared to passwords
Passwords are impossible to
remember when theyre even
remotely secure And theyre
also easy to steal or find out
They have the worst of both
worlds theyre inconvenient
and not very secure Multimodal
biometric verification is both
convenient for the user and
extremely secure It can be
flexibly adapted to the
environment
FINTECH SERIE middot FEBRUARY 2016 middot wwwcentrodeinnovacionbbvacomen
Which country is the most
advanced
The use of voice biometrics in
governments is more advanced
in Europe than in the United
States for several historic
reasons However the
implementation in the financial
sector is more advanced in the
United States
What are the next challenges
for Agnitio
The most important challenge
for any company at the
forefront of a technology sector
is to stay ahead ndashlike the Queen
of Hearts in Alice in
Wonderland who had to keep
running to stay in the same
place In other words the
challenge is to continue with
the work of research into new
algorithms in order to improve
both the accuracy speed and
the size of the systems Agnitio
is now in the fourth generation
of voice identification
technology Were now working
on the fifth generation which
will be much more robust
against environmental noise
have spectacular improvements
in accuracy in short speech
and be able to learn to
recognize users very fast over
time These are some of the
requirements for authentication
in the cloud services that wersquoll
be seeing on a massive scale in
the coming years
FINTECH SERIE middot FEBRUARY 2016 middot wwwcentrodeinnovacionbbvacomen
The bank and First Direct offer their 15 million customers
biometric banking software for accessing their accounts
online and by phone using their fingerprint or voice
04HSBCs bid forbiometrics
Fifteen million customers identified through their voice and
fingerprints This is the goal set by HSBC which is extending its
bid for biometrics in the United Kingdom HSBC and First Direct
customers who use telephone banking and mobile apps can
access their accounts through a system that checks their voice
and fingerprint The bank believes that the software will help it
address the issue of forgotten passwords
FINTECH SERIE middot FEBRUARY 2016 middot wwwcentrodeinnovacionbbvacomen
Francesca McDonagh HSBCs
retail banking and wealth
management manager
describes the decision as ldquothe
largest deployment of voice-
based biometric security
technology in the United
Kingdomrdquo ldquoThe launch of voice
and touch ID makes it even
easier for customers to access
their bank accounts using the
safest form of password the
bodyrdquo she concludes in this
article published in The
Guardian
First Direct will start registering
customers for voice
identification in the coming
weeks and HSBC will follow suit
in summer Customers who
decide to use this option must
register their ldquovoiceprintrdquo and
will never again have to use a
phone password or PIN
FINTECH SERIE middot FEBRUARY 2016 middot wwwcentrodeinnovacionbbvacomen
The English newspaper mentions other
examples of banks that are embracing
biometrics
Barclays launched its voice recognition software
for its 300000 wealthiest customers in the United
Kingdom in 2013 One year later it said that this
technology had been so successful that it would
extend it to its 12 million retail banking customers
Barclays intends to offer them voice recognition
by the end of this year since ldquoit has been
incredibly popularrdquo among its wealthiest
customers who used to spend 15 minutes
checking their identity and can now do so in
less than ten seconds
Lloyds Banking Group has said that it is
considering including Amazon Echo in its online
banking services a voice-controlled hands-free
device that is only available in the United States
The bank claims that 360000 blind or visually
impaired people in the United Kingdom could
benefit from voice recognition
FINTECH SERIE middot FEBRUARY 2016 middot wwwcentrodeinnovacionbbvacomen
Royal Bank of Scotland says that
touch ID has been a ldquogreat
successrdquo following its launch last
year with over one million
customers now logging in using
their fingerprint
In the United States several banks
have tested biometric technology
and Citi has around 250000
customers who use voice
recognition authentication
Touch ID is available on all Apple
mobile devices for HSBC and First
Direct Customers have to
download the mobile banking app
and follow the instructions for
associating their fingerprint
And yes it works even if you have
a cold Joe Gordon HSBCs
customer contact manager in the
United Kingdom says that voice
recognition works even if you
have a cold In the BBC Today
program he claimed that ldquowe will
be able to deal with people with a
cold or with slight handicaps
Things like the size of our mouth
or the vocal tract dont change
Neither does the rhythm or
accent when a person has a
slight coldrdquo
Nuance Communication is
supplying the voice biometric
technology that cross checks
more than 100 unique
identifiers including behavioral
features such as speed rhythm
and pronunciation and physical
aspects like the shape of the
larynx the nasal tract and the
nasal passage
FINTECH SERIE middot FEBRERY 2016 middot wwwcentrodeinnovacionbbvacomen
According to a YouGov survey
published by HSBC the British
believe that along with voice
and touch the heart beats the
hair and even the saliva could
be used as passwords in the
future According to the survey
38 of people use the same
password for most of their
accounts while 55 say that
they rarely update their
passwords 78 of the 2038
adults surveyed were sure that
their body was the only thing
that could be used as a
password and 74 felt that it
would become the default
password in the future
FINTECH SERIE middot FEBRUARY 2016 middot wwwcentrodeinnovacionbbvacomen
The boom of biometric devices
is gaining momentum
positioning themselves firmly in
the security monitoring and
control solutions market
05INFOGRAPHY
Biometrictechnology
Share in Pinterest
FINTECH SERIE middot FEBRUARY 2016 middot wwwcentrodeinnovacionbbvacomen
Determines an individualacutes
identity The biometric data
are compared against all
the data held in the
database
Confirms an individualacutes
identity by comparing a
simple with one or more
templates obtained
previously
Identification vs Verification
Perceptions of authentication
61
Belive that biometric authentication is
as safe as passwordsWould like to use digital fingerprint
scanning to Access their accounts
40
FINTECH SERIE middot FEBRUARY 2016 middot wwwcentrodeinnovacionbbvacomen
Biometric solutions
Iris
Facerecognition
Voicerecognition
Fingerprint
Signature
Vascular
IrisCaptures an infrared picture of the personacutes eye which isprocessed to obtain the spectral information of the iris
Face recognitionThe faceacutes features are obtained using a low-resolution camera
Voice recognitionThe voiceacutes features are based on the shape and size of the appendages used to creacuteate the sound
FingerprintA map of the fingerprintacutes peaks and troughs is registeredusing optical termal andor ultrasound technology
SignatureRecording of the act of signing on a piece of paper or tablet The movement not the image is recorded
VascularAn infrared image of the skin is taken to detect the veinsand a map of their distribution is obtained
FINTECH SERIE middot FEBRUARY 2016 middot wwwcentrodeinnovacionbbvacomen
Applications on the market
Uses of biometric authentication
Travel17
Electronics20
Banking $ finance25
Government15
Defens12
Others11
Digital print
Fingerprint
Iris
Face recognition
Others
1
30
9
59
1
FINTECH SERIE middot FEBRUARY 2016 middot wwwcentrodeinnovacionbbvacomen
BBVA Innovation Center
creates the Fintech Serie By
Innovation Edge to keep
informed about the financial
innovation trends with its
milestones analysis cases
studie interviews with experts
and infographics to display the
data that describe each of
these trends
SERIEFINTECH BY innovation edge
share
LASTEST ISSUES
Easy quickly and very efficiently
are the keys of personal
management tools (PFM)
The advance of bitcoin and
payments
The takeoff of emerging companies
in a competitive world
A new concept in the world
of lsquostartupsrsquo
Regiacutestratepara estar al diacutea de las uacuteltimas tendencias
centrodeinnovacionbbvacom
centrodeinnovacionbbvacominnovation-edge
siacuteguenos
BBVA no se hace responsable de las opiniones publicadas en este documento
Do you believe that man-in-the-middle attacks
are more dangerous for voice systems and is it
easier to obtain a voice sample than one from
another part of the body
MITM attacks are normally related with encrypted
communication between two systems This occurs
in voice biometrics when the communication takes
place via the IP network and not the telephone
channel In these cases protecting the voiceprint
by correctly encrypting it is an additional problem
to be resolved by systems integrators to avoid the
possibility of these voiceprints (and digital or facial
biometrics) being intercepted and changed This is
why voice biometrics ndashin particular encrypted
voiceprints (not the voice itself)ndash is neither more
nor less likely to suffer attack by MITM
However the voice is often used as authentication
via a different channel (out of band authentication)
Using a brief telephone call on a previously agreed
phone number and making the user say a certain
phrase is the most convenient and secure way of
making an out-of-band authentication
FINTECH SERIE middot FEBRUARY 2016 middot wwwcentrodeinnovacionbbvacomen
Will biometric systems do
away with passwords
Im convinced that the end of
passwords is in sight at least as
a basic authentication tool
Companies banks and online
retailers canrsquot go on torturing
their customers by making
them remember secure
passwords that need to be
frequently changed Today an
average user can have as many
as 60 passwords with 20 being
the average in a European
country Some studies indicate
that ten of them are used on a
daily basis And of course to
keep them safe they have to be
long contain uppercase and
lowercase symbols and be
frequently changed Thats
impossible to maintain
Theres no doubt that
biometrics is one of the ways in
which this problem is going to
be resolved It will be assisted
by other security technologies
to ensure that the entire
process is secure and that the
security is sufficiently
dimensioned for the information
its protecting Im convinced
that sooner or later well
perhaps have just a few very
secure passwords that we wont
need to use very often and
which will only be used as
backup systems in extreme
cases
What are the advantages of
biometric verification by voice
compared to passwords
Passwords are impossible to
remember when theyre even
remotely secure And theyre
also easy to steal or find out
They have the worst of both
worlds theyre inconvenient
and not very secure Multimodal
biometric verification is both
convenient for the user and
extremely secure It can be
flexibly adapted to the
environment
FINTECH SERIE middot FEBRUARY 2016 middot wwwcentrodeinnovacionbbvacomen
Which country is the most
advanced
The use of voice biometrics in
governments is more advanced
in Europe than in the United
States for several historic
reasons However the
implementation in the financial
sector is more advanced in the
United States
What are the next challenges
for Agnitio
The most important challenge
for any company at the
forefront of a technology sector
is to stay ahead ndashlike the Queen
of Hearts in Alice in
Wonderland who had to keep
running to stay in the same
place In other words the
challenge is to continue with
the work of research into new
algorithms in order to improve
both the accuracy speed and
the size of the systems Agnitio
is now in the fourth generation
of voice identification
technology Were now working
on the fifth generation which
will be much more robust
against environmental noise
have spectacular improvements
in accuracy in short speech
and be able to learn to
recognize users very fast over
time These are some of the
requirements for authentication
in the cloud services that wersquoll
be seeing on a massive scale in
the coming years
FINTECH SERIE middot FEBRUARY 2016 middot wwwcentrodeinnovacionbbvacomen
The bank and First Direct offer their 15 million customers
biometric banking software for accessing their accounts
online and by phone using their fingerprint or voice
04HSBCs bid forbiometrics
Fifteen million customers identified through their voice and
fingerprints This is the goal set by HSBC which is extending its
bid for biometrics in the United Kingdom HSBC and First Direct
customers who use telephone banking and mobile apps can
access their accounts through a system that checks their voice
and fingerprint The bank believes that the software will help it
address the issue of forgotten passwords
FINTECH SERIE middot FEBRUARY 2016 middot wwwcentrodeinnovacionbbvacomen
Francesca McDonagh HSBCs
retail banking and wealth
management manager
describes the decision as ldquothe
largest deployment of voice-
based biometric security
technology in the United
Kingdomrdquo ldquoThe launch of voice
and touch ID makes it even
easier for customers to access
their bank accounts using the
safest form of password the
bodyrdquo she concludes in this
article published in The
Guardian
First Direct will start registering
customers for voice
identification in the coming
weeks and HSBC will follow suit
in summer Customers who
decide to use this option must
register their ldquovoiceprintrdquo and
will never again have to use a
phone password or PIN
FINTECH SERIE middot FEBRUARY 2016 middot wwwcentrodeinnovacionbbvacomen
The English newspaper mentions other
examples of banks that are embracing
biometrics
Barclays launched its voice recognition software
for its 300000 wealthiest customers in the United
Kingdom in 2013 One year later it said that this
technology had been so successful that it would
extend it to its 12 million retail banking customers
Barclays intends to offer them voice recognition
by the end of this year since ldquoit has been
incredibly popularrdquo among its wealthiest
customers who used to spend 15 minutes
checking their identity and can now do so in
less than ten seconds
Lloyds Banking Group has said that it is
considering including Amazon Echo in its online
banking services a voice-controlled hands-free
device that is only available in the United States
The bank claims that 360000 blind or visually
impaired people in the United Kingdom could
benefit from voice recognition
FINTECH SERIE middot FEBRUARY 2016 middot wwwcentrodeinnovacionbbvacomen
Royal Bank of Scotland says that
touch ID has been a ldquogreat
successrdquo following its launch last
year with over one million
customers now logging in using
their fingerprint
In the United States several banks
have tested biometric technology
and Citi has around 250000
customers who use voice
recognition authentication
Touch ID is available on all Apple
mobile devices for HSBC and First
Direct Customers have to
download the mobile banking app
and follow the instructions for
associating their fingerprint
And yes it works even if you have
a cold Joe Gordon HSBCs
customer contact manager in the
United Kingdom says that voice
recognition works even if you
have a cold In the BBC Today
program he claimed that ldquowe will
be able to deal with people with a
cold or with slight handicaps
Things like the size of our mouth
or the vocal tract dont change
Neither does the rhythm or
accent when a person has a
slight coldrdquo
Nuance Communication is
supplying the voice biometric
technology that cross checks
more than 100 unique
identifiers including behavioral
features such as speed rhythm
and pronunciation and physical
aspects like the shape of the
larynx the nasal tract and the
nasal passage
FINTECH SERIE middot FEBRERY 2016 middot wwwcentrodeinnovacionbbvacomen
According to a YouGov survey
published by HSBC the British
believe that along with voice
and touch the heart beats the
hair and even the saliva could
be used as passwords in the
future According to the survey
38 of people use the same
password for most of their
accounts while 55 say that
they rarely update their
passwords 78 of the 2038
adults surveyed were sure that
their body was the only thing
that could be used as a
password and 74 felt that it
would become the default
password in the future
FINTECH SERIE middot FEBRUARY 2016 middot wwwcentrodeinnovacionbbvacomen
The boom of biometric devices
is gaining momentum
positioning themselves firmly in
the security monitoring and
control solutions market
05INFOGRAPHY
Biometrictechnology
Share in Pinterest
FINTECH SERIE middot FEBRUARY 2016 middot wwwcentrodeinnovacionbbvacomen
Determines an individualacutes
identity The biometric data
are compared against all
the data held in the
database
Confirms an individualacutes
identity by comparing a
simple with one or more
templates obtained
previously
Identification vs Verification
Perceptions of authentication
61
Belive that biometric authentication is
as safe as passwordsWould like to use digital fingerprint
scanning to Access their accounts
40
FINTECH SERIE middot FEBRUARY 2016 middot wwwcentrodeinnovacionbbvacomen
Biometric solutions
Iris
Facerecognition
Voicerecognition
Fingerprint
Signature
Vascular
IrisCaptures an infrared picture of the personacutes eye which isprocessed to obtain the spectral information of the iris
Face recognitionThe faceacutes features are obtained using a low-resolution camera
Voice recognitionThe voiceacutes features are based on the shape and size of the appendages used to creacuteate the sound
FingerprintA map of the fingerprintacutes peaks and troughs is registeredusing optical termal andor ultrasound technology
SignatureRecording of the act of signing on a piece of paper or tablet The movement not the image is recorded
VascularAn infrared image of the skin is taken to detect the veinsand a map of their distribution is obtained
FINTECH SERIE middot FEBRUARY 2016 middot wwwcentrodeinnovacionbbvacomen
Applications on the market
Uses of biometric authentication
Travel17
Electronics20
Banking $ finance25
Government15
Defens12
Others11
Digital print
Fingerprint
Iris
Face recognition
Others
1
30
9
59
1
FINTECH SERIE middot FEBRUARY 2016 middot wwwcentrodeinnovacionbbvacomen
BBVA Innovation Center
creates the Fintech Serie By
Innovation Edge to keep
informed about the financial
innovation trends with its
milestones analysis cases
studie interviews with experts
and infographics to display the
data that describe each of
these trends
SERIEFINTECH BY innovation edge
share
LASTEST ISSUES
Easy quickly and very efficiently
are the keys of personal
management tools (PFM)
The advance of bitcoin and
payments
The takeoff of emerging companies
in a competitive world
A new concept in the world
of lsquostartupsrsquo
Regiacutestratepara estar al diacutea de las uacuteltimas tendencias
centrodeinnovacionbbvacom
centrodeinnovacionbbvacominnovation-edge
siacuteguenos
BBVA no se hace responsable de las opiniones publicadas en este documento
Will biometric systems do
away with passwords
Im convinced that the end of
passwords is in sight at least as
a basic authentication tool
Companies banks and online
retailers canrsquot go on torturing
their customers by making
them remember secure
passwords that need to be
frequently changed Today an
average user can have as many
as 60 passwords with 20 being
the average in a European
country Some studies indicate
that ten of them are used on a
daily basis And of course to
keep them safe they have to be
long contain uppercase and
lowercase symbols and be
frequently changed Thats
impossible to maintain
Theres no doubt that
biometrics is one of the ways in
which this problem is going to
be resolved It will be assisted
by other security technologies
to ensure that the entire
process is secure and that the
security is sufficiently
dimensioned for the information
its protecting Im convinced
that sooner or later well
perhaps have just a few very
secure passwords that we wont
need to use very often and
which will only be used as
backup systems in extreme
cases
What are the advantages of
biometric verification by voice
compared to passwords
Passwords are impossible to
remember when theyre even
remotely secure And theyre
also easy to steal or find out
They have the worst of both
worlds theyre inconvenient
and not very secure Multimodal
biometric verification is both
convenient for the user and
extremely secure It can be
flexibly adapted to the
environment
FINTECH SERIE middot FEBRUARY 2016 middot wwwcentrodeinnovacionbbvacomen
Which country is the most
advanced
The use of voice biometrics in
governments is more advanced
in Europe than in the United
States for several historic
reasons However the
implementation in the financial
sector is more advanced in the
United States
What are the next challenges
for Agnitio
The most important challenge
for any company at the
forefront of a technology sector
is to stay ahead ndashlike the Queen
of Hearts in Alice in
Wonderland who had to keep
running to stay in the same
place In other words the
challenge is to continue with
the work of research into new
algorithms in order to improve
both the accuracy speed and
the size of the systems Agnitio
is now in the fourth generation
of voice identification
technology Were now working
on the fifth generation which
will be much more robust
against environmental noise
have spectacular improvements
in accuracy in short speech
and be able to learn to
recognize users very fast over
time These are some of the
requirements for authentication
in the cloud services that wersquoll
be seeing on a massive scale in
the coming years
FINTECH SERIE middot FEBRUARY 2016 middot wwwcentrodeinnovacionbbvacomen
The bank and First Direct offer their 15 million customers
biometric banking software for accessing their accounts
online and by phone using their fingerprint or voice
04HSBCs bid forbiometrics
Fifteen million customers identified through their voice and
fingerprints This is the goal set by HSBC which is extending its
bid for biometrics in the United Kingdom HSBC and First Direct
customers who use telephone banking and mobile apps can
access their accounts through a system that checks their voice
and fingerprint The bank believes that the software will help it
address the issue of forgotten passwords
FINTECH SERIE middot FEBRUARY 2016 middot wwwcentrodeinnovacionbbvacomen
Francesca McDonagh HSBCs
retail banking and wealth
management manager
describes the decision as ldquothe
largest deployment of voice-
based biometric security
technology in the United
Kingdomrdquo ldquoThe launch of voice
and touch ID makes it even
easier for customers to access
their bank accounts using the
safest form of password the
bodyrdquo she concludes in this
article published in The
Guardian
First Direct will start registering
customers for voice
identification in the coming
weeks and HSBC will follow suit
in summer Customers who
decide to use this option must
register their ldquovoiceprintrdquo and
will never again have to use a
phone password or PIN
FINTECH SERIE middot FEBRUARY 2016 middot wwwcentrodeinnovacionbbvacomen
The English newspaper mentions other
examples of banks that are embracing
biometrics
Barclays launched its voice recognition software
for its 300000 wealthiest customers in the United
Kingdom in 2013 One year later it said that this
technology had been so successful that it would
extend it to its 12 million retail banking customers
Barclays intends to offer them voice recognition
by the end of this year since ldquoit has been
incredibly popularrdquo among its wealthiest
customers who used to spend 15 minutes
checking their identity and can now do so in
less than ten seconds
Lloyds Banking Group has said that it is
considering including Amazon Echo in its online
banking services a voice-controlled hands-free
device that is only available in the United States
The bank claims that 360000 blind or visually
impaired people in the United Kingdom could
benefit from voice recognition
FINTECH SERIE middot FEBRUARY 2016 middot wwwcentrodeinnovacionbbvacomen
Royal Bank of Scotland says that
touch ID has been a ldquogreat
successrdquo following its launch last
year with over one million
customers now logging in using
their fingerprint
In the United States several banks
have tested biometric technology
and Citi has around 250000
customers who use voice
recognition authentication
Touch ID is available on all Apple
mobile devices for HSBC and First
Direct Customers have to
download the mobile banking app
and follow the instructions for
associating their fingerprint
And yes it works even if you have
a cold Joe Gordon HSBCs
customer contact manager in the
United Kingdom says that voice
recognition works even if you
have a cold In the BBC Today
program he claimed that ldquowe will
be able to deal with people with a
cold or with slight handicaps
Things like the size of our mouth
or the vocal tract dont change
Neither does the rhythm or
accent when a person has a
slight coldrdquo
Nuance Communication is
supplying the voice biometric
technology that cross checks
more than 100 unique
identifiers including behavioral
features such as speed rhythm
and pronunciation and physical
aspects like the shape of the
larynx the nasal tract and the
nasal passage
FINTECH SERIE middot FEBRERY 2016 middot wwwcentrodeinnovacionbbvacomen
According to a YouGov survey
published by HSBC the British
believe that along with voice
and touch the heart beats the
hair and even the saliva could
be used as passwords in the
future According to the survey
38 of people use the same
password for most of their
accounts while 55 say that
they rarely update their
passwords 78 of the 2038
adults surveyed were sure that
their body was the only thing
that could be used as a
password and 74 felt that it
would become the default
password in the future
FINTECH SERIE middot FEBRUARY 2016 middot wwwcentrodeinnovacionbbvacomen
The boom of biometric devices
is gaining momentum
positioning themselves firmly in
the security monitoring and
control solutions market
05INFOGRAPHY
Biometrictechnology
Share in Pinterest
FINTECH SERIE middot FEBRUARY 2016 middot wwwcentrodeinnovacionbbvacomen
Determines an individualacutes
identity The biometric data
are compared against all
the data held in the
database
Confirms an individualacutes
identity by comparing a
simple with one or more
templates obtained
previously
Identification vs Verification
Perceptions of authentication
61
Belive that biometric authentication is
as safe as passwordsWould like to use digital fingerprint
scanning to Access their accounts
40
FINTECH SERIE middot FEBRUARY 2016 middot wwwcentrodeinnovacionbbvacomen
Biometric solutions
Iris
Facerecognition
Voicerecognition
Fingerprint
Signature
Vascular
IrisCaptures an infrared picture of the personacutes eye which isprocessed to obtain the spectral information of the iris
Face recognitionThe faceacutes features are obtained using a low-resolution camera
Voice recognitionThe voiceacutes features are based on the shape and size of the appendages used to creacuteate the sound
FingerprintA map of the fingerprintacutes peaks and troughs is registeredusing optical termal andor ultrasound technology
SignatureRecording of the act of signing on a piece of paper or tablet The movement not the image is recorded
VascularAn infrared image of the skin is taken to detect the veinsand a map of their distribution is obtained
FINTECH SERIE middot FEBRUARY 2016 middot wwwcentrodeinnovacionbbvacomen
Applications on the market
Uses of biometric authentication
Travel17
Electronics20
Banking $ finance25
Government15
Defens12
Others11
Digital print
Fingerprint
Iris
Face recognition
Others
1
30
9
59
1
FINTECH SERIE middot FEBRUARY 2016 middot wwwcentrodeinnovacionbbvacomen
BBVA Innovation Center
creates the Fintech Serie By
Innovation Edge to keep
informed about the financial
innovation trends with its
milestones analysis cases
studie interviews with experts
and infographics to display the
data that describe each of
these trends
SERIEFINTECH BY innovation edge
share
LASTEST ISSUES
Easy quickly and very efficiently
are the keys of personal
management tools (PFM)
The advance of bitcoin and
payments
The takeoff of emerging companies
in a competitive world
A new concept in the world
of lsquostartupsrsquo
Regiacutestratepara estar al diacutea de las uacuteltimas tendencias
centrodeinnovacionbbvacom
centrodeinnovacionbbvacominnovation-edge
siacuteguenos
BBVA no se hace responsable de las opiniones publicadas en este documento
Which country is the most
advanced
The use of voice biometrics in
governments is more advanced
in Europe than in the United
States for several historic
reasons However the
implementation in the financial
sector is more advanced in the
United States
What are the next challenges
for Agnitio
The most important challenge
for any company at the
forefront of a technology sector
is to stay ahead ndashlike the Queen
of Hearts in Alice in
Wonderland who had to keep
running to stay in the same
place In other words the
challenge is to continue with
the work of research into new
algorithms in order to improve
both the accuracy speed and
the size of the systems Agnitio
is now in the fourth generation
of voice identification
technology Were now working
on the fifth generation which
will be much more robust
against environmental noise
have spectacular improvements
in accuracy in short speech
and be able to learn to
recognize users very fast over
time These are some of the
requirements for authentication
in the cloud services that wersquoll
be seeing on a massive scale in
the coming years
FINTECH SERIE middot FEBRUARY 2016 middot wwwcentrodeinnovacionbbvacomen
The bank and First Direct offer their 15 million customers
biometric banking software for accessing their accounts
online and by phone using their fingerprint or voice
04HSBCs bid forbiometrics
Fifteen million customers identified through their voice and
fingerprints This is the goal set by HSBC which is extending its
bid for biometrics in the United Kingdom HSBC and First Direct
customers who use telephone banking and mobile apps can
access their accounts through a system that checks their voice
and fingerprint The bank believes that the software will help it
address the issue of forgotten passwords
FINTECH SERIE middot FEBRUARY 2016 middot wwwcentrodeinnovacionbbvacomen
Francesca McDonagh HSBCs
retail banking and wealth
management manager
describes the decision as ldquothe
largest deployment of voice-
based biometric security
technology in the United
Kingdomrdquo ldquoThe launch of voice
and touch ID makes it even
easier for customers to access
their bank accounts using the
safest form of password the
bodyrdquo she concludes in this
article published in The
Guardian
First Direct will start registering
customers for voice
identification in the coming
weeks and HSBC will follow suit
in summer Customers who
decide to use this option must
register their ldquovoiceprintrdquo and
will never again have to use a
phone password or PIN
FINTECH SERIE middot FEBRUARY 2016 middot wwwcentrodeinnovacionbbvacomen
The English newspaper mentions other
examples of banks that are embracing
biometrics
Barclays launched its voice recognition software
for its 300000 wealthiest customers in the United
Kingdom in 2013 One year later it said that this
technology had been so successful that it would
extend it to its 12 million retail banking customers
Barclays intends to offer them voice recognition
by the end of this year since ldquoit has been
incredibly popularrdquo among its wealthiest
customers who used to spend 15 minutes
checking their identity and can now do so in
less than ten seconds
Lloyds Banking Group has said that it is
considering including Amazon Echo in its online
banking services a voice-controlled hands-free
device that is only available in the United States
The bank claims that 360000 blind or visually
impaired people in the United Kingdom could
benefit from voice recognition
FINTECH SERIE middot FEBRUARY 2016 middot wwwcentrodeinnovacionbbvacomen
Royal Bank of Scotland says that
touch ID has been a ldquogreat
successrdquo following its launch last
year with over one million
customers now logging in using
their fingerprint
In the United States several banks
have tested biometric technology
and Citi has around 250000
customers who use voice
recognition authentication
Touch ID is available on all Apple
mobile devices for HSBC and First
Direct Customers have to
download the mobile banking app
and follow the instructions for
associating their fingerprint
And yes it works even if you have
a cold Joe Gordon HSBCs
customer contact manager in the
United Kingdom says that voice
recognition works even if you
have a cold In the BBC Today
program he claimed that ldquowe will
be able to deal with people with a
cold or with slight handicaps
Things like the size of our mouth
or the vocal tract dont change
Neither does the rhythm or
accent when a person has a
slight coldrdquo
Nuance Communication is
supplying the voice biometric
technology that cross checks
more than 100 unique
identifiers including behavioral
features such as speed rhythm
and pronunciation and physical
aspects like the shape of the
larynx the nasal tract and the
nasal passage
FINTECH SERIE middot FEBRERY 2016 middot wwwcentrodeinnovacionbbvacomen
According to a YouGov survey
published by HSBC the British
believe that along with voice
and touch the heart beats the
hair and even the saliva could
be used as passwords in the
future According to the survey
38 of people use the same
password for most of their
accounts while 55 say that
they rarely update their
passwords 78 of the 2038
adults surveyed were sure that
their body was the only thing
that could be used as a
password and 74 felt that it
would become the default
password in the future
FINTECH SERIE middot FEBRUARY 2016 middot wwwcentrodeinnovacionbbvacomen
The boom of biometric devices
is gaining momentum
positioning themselves firmly in
the security monitoring and
control solutions market
05INFOGRAPHY
Biometrictechnology
Share in Pinterest
FINTECH SERIE middot FEBRUARY 2016 middot wwwcentrodeinnovacionbbvacomen
Determines an individualacutes
identity The biometric data
are compared against all
the data held in the
database
Confirms an individualacutes
identity by comparing a
simple with one or more
templates obtained
previously
Identification vs Verification
Perceptions of authentication
61
Belive that biometric authentication is
as safe as passwordsWould like to use digital fingerprint
scanning to Access their accounts
40
FINTECH SERIE middot FEBRUARY 2016 middot wwwcentrodeinnovacionbbvacomen
Biometric solutions
Iris
Facerecognition
Voicerecognition
Fingerprint
Signature
Vascular
IrisCaptures an infrared picture of the personacutes eye which isprocessed to obtain the spectral information of the iris
Face recognitionThe faceacutes features are obtained using a low-resolution camera
Voice recognitionThe voiceacutes features are based on the shape and size of the appendages used to creacuteate the sound
FingerprintA map of the fingerprintacutes peaks and troughs is registeredusing optical termal andor ultrasound technology
SignatureRecording of the act of signing on a piece of paper or tablet The movement not the image is recorded
VascularAn infrared image of the skin is taken to detect the veinsand a map of their distribution is obtained
FINTECH SERIE middot FEBRUARY 2016 middot wwwcentrodeinnovacionbbvacomen
Applications on the market
Uses of biometric authentication
Travel17
Electronics20
Banking $ finance25
Government15
Defens12
Others11
Digital print
Fingerprint
Iris
Face recognition
Others
1
30
9
59
1
FINTECH SERIE middot FEBRUARY 2016 middot wwwcentrodeinnovacionbbvacomen
BBVA Innovation Center
creates the Fintech Serie By
Innovation Edge to keep
informed about the financial
innovation trends with its
milestones analysis cases
studie interviews with experts
and infographics to display the
data that describe each of
these trends
SERIEFINTECH BY innovation edge
share
LASTEST ISSUES
Easy quickly and very efficiently
are the keys of personal
management tools (PFM)
The advance of bitcoin and
payments
The takeoff of emerging companies
in a competitive world
A new concept in the world
of lsquostartupsrsquo
Regiacutestratepara estar al diacutea de las uacuteltimas tendencias
centrodeinnovacionbbvacom
centrodeinnovacionbbvacominnovation-edge
siacuteguenos
BBVA no se hace responsable de las opiniones publicadas en este documento
The bank and First Direct offer their 15 million customers
biometric banking software for accessing their accounts
online and by phone using their fingerprint or voice
04HSBCs bid forbiometrics
Fifteen million customers identified through their voice and
fingerprints This is the goal set by HSBC which is extending its
bid for biometrics in the United Kingdom HSBC and First Direct
customers who use telephone banking and mobile apps can
access their accounts through a system that checks their voice
and fingerprint The bank believes that the software will help it
address the issue of forgotten passwords
FINTECH SERIE middot FEBRUARY 2016 middot wwwcentrodeinnovacionbbvacomen
Francesca McDonagh HSBCs
retail banking and wealth
management manager
describes the decision as ldquothe
largest deployment of voice-
based biometric security
technology in the United
Kingdomrdquo ldquoThe launch of voice
and touch ID makes it even
easier for customers to access
their bank accounts using the
safest form of password the
bodyrdquo she concludes in this
article published in The
Guardian
First Direct will start registering
customers for voice
identification in the coming
weeks and HSBC will follow suit
in summer Customers who
decide to use this option must
register their ldquovoiceprintrdquo and
will never again have to use a
phone password or PIN
FINTECH SERIE middot FEBRUARY 2016 middot wwwcentrodeinnovacionbbvacomen
The English newspaper mentions other
examples of banks that are embracing
biometrics
Barclays launched its voice recognition software
for its 300000 wealthiest customers in the United
Kingdom in 2013 One year later it said that this
technology had been so successful that it would
extend it to its 12 million retail banking customers
Barclays intends to offer them voice recognition
by the end of this year since ldquoit has been
incredibly popularrdquo among its wealthiest
customers who used to spend 15 minutes
checking their identity and can now do so in
less than ten seconds
Lloyds Banking Group has said that it is
considering including Amazon Echo in its online
banking services a voice-controlled hands-free
device that is only available in the United States
The bank claims that 360000 blind or visually
impaired people in the United Kingdom could
benefit from voice recognition
FINTECH SERIE middot FEBRUARY 2016 middot wwwcentrodeinnovacionbbvacomen
Royal Bank of Scotland says that
touch ID has been a ldquogreat
successrdquo following its launch last
year with over one million
customers now logging in using
their fingerprint
In the United States several banks
have tested biometric technology
and Citi has around 250000
customers who use voice
recognition authentication
Touch ID is available on all Apple
mobile devices for HSBC and First
Direct Customers have to
download the mobile banking app
and follow the instructions for
associating their fingerprint
And yes it works even if you have
a cold Joe Gordon HSBCs
customer contact manager in the
United Kingdom says that voice
recognition works even if you
have a cold In the BBC Today
program he claimed that ldquowe will
be able to deal with people with a
cold or with slight handicaps
Things like the size of our mouth
or the vocal tract dont change
Neither does the rhythm or
accent when a person has a
slight coldrdquo
Nuance Communication is
supplying the voice biometric
technology that cross checks
more than 100 unique
identifiers including behavioral
features such as speed rhythm
and pronunciation and physical
aspects like the shape of the
larynx the nasal tract and the
nasal passage
FINTECH SERIE middot FEBRERY 2016 middot wwwcentrodeinnovacionbbvacomen
According to a YouGov survey
published by HSBC the British
believe that along with voice
and touch the heart beats the
hair and even the saliva could
be used as passwords in the
future According to the survey
38 of people use the same
password for most of their
accounts while 55 say that
they rarely update their
passwords 78 of the 2038
adults surveyed were sure that
their body was the only thing
that could be used as a
password and 74 felt that it
would become the default
password in the future
FINTECH SERIE middot FEBRUARY 2016 middot wwwcentrodeinnovacionbbvacomen
The boom of biometric devices
is gaining momentum
positioning themselves firmly in
the security monitoring and
control solutions market
05INFOGRAPHY
Biometrictechnology
Share in Pinterest
FINTECH SERIE middot FEBRUARY 2016 middot wwwcentrodeinnovacionbbvacomen
Determines an individualacutes
identity The biometric data
are compared against all
the data held in the
database
Confirms an individualacutes
identity by comparing a
simple with one or more
templates obtained
previously
Identification vs Verification
Perceptions of authentication
61
Belive that biometric authentication is
as safe as passwordsWould like to use digital fingerprint
scanning to Access their accounts
40
FINTECH SERIE middot FEBRUARY 2016 middot wwwcentrodeinnovacionbbvacomen
Biometric solutions
Iris
Facerecognition
Voicerecognition
Fingerprint
Signature
Vascular
IrisCaptures an infrared picture of the personacutes eye which isprocessed to obtain the spectral information of the iris
Face recognitionThe faceacutes features are obtained using a low-resolution camera
Voice recognitionThe voiceacutes features are based on the shape and size of the appendages used to creacuteate the sound
FingerprintA map of the fingerprintacutes peaks and troughs is registeredusing optical termal andor ultrasound technology
SignatureRecording of the act of signing on a piece of paper or tablet The movement not the image is recorded
VascularAn infrared image of the skin is taken to detect the veinsand a map of their distribution is obtained
FINTECH SERIE middot FEBRUARY 2016 middot wwwcentrodeinnovacionbbvacomen
Applications on the market
Uses of biometric authentication
Travel17
Electronics20
Banking $ finance25
Government15
Defens12
Others11
Digital print
Fingerprint
Iris
Face recognition
Others
1
30
9
59
1
FINTECH SERIE middot FEBRUARY 2016 middot wwwcentrodeinnovacionbbvacomen
BBVA Innovation Center
creates the Fintech Serie By
Innovation Edge to keep
informed about the financial
innovation trends with its
milestones analysis cases
studie interviews with experts
and infographics to display the
data that describe each of
these trends
SERIEFINTECH BY innovation edge
share
LASTEST ISSUES
Easy quickly and very efficiently
are the keys of personal
management tools (PFM)
The advance of bitcoin and
payments
The takeoff of emerging companies
in a competitive world
A new concept in the world
of lsquostartupsrsquo
Regiacutestratepara estar al diacutea de las uacuteltimas tendencias
centrodeinnovacionbbvacom
centrodeinnovacionbbvacominnovation-edge
siacuteguenos
BBVA no se hace responsable de las opiniones publicadas en este documento
Francesca McDonagh HSBCs
retail banking and wealth
management manager
describes the decision as ldquothe
largest deployment of voice-
based biometric security
technology in the United
Kingdomrdquo ldquoThe launch of voice
and touch ID makes it even
easier for customers to access
their bank accounts using the
safest form of password the
bodyrdquo she concludes in this
article published in The
Guardian
First Direct will start registering
customers for voice
identification in the coming
weeks and HSBC will follow suit
in summer Customers who
decide to use this option must
register their ldquovoiceprintrdquo and
will never again have to use a
phone password or PIN
FINTECH SERIE middot FEBRUARY 2016 middot wwwcentrodeinnovacionbbvacomen
The English newspaper mentions other
examples of banks that are embracing
biometrics
Barclays launched its voice recognition software
for its 300000 wealthiest customers in the United
Kingdom in 2013 One year later it said that this
technology had been so successful that it would
extend it to its 12 million retail banking customers
Barclays intends to offer them voice recognition
by the end of this year since ldquoit has been
incredibly popularrdquo among its wealthiest
customers who used to spend 15 minutes
checking their identity and can now do so in
less than ten seconds
Lloyds Banking Group has said that it is
considering including Amazon Echo in its online
banking services a voice-controlled hands-free
device that is only available in the United States
The bank claims that 360000 blind or visually
impaired people in the United Kingdom could
benefit from voice recognition
FINTECH SERIE middot FEBRUARY 2016 middot wwwcentrodeinnovacionbbvacomen
Royal Bank of Scotland says that
touch ID has been a ldquogreat
successrdquo following its launch last
year with over one million
customers now logging in using
their fingerprint
In the United States several banks
have tested biometric technology
and Citi has around 250000
customers who use voice
recognition authentication
Touch ID is available on all Apple
mobile devices for HSBC and First
Direct Customers have to
download the mobile banking app
and follow the instructions for
associating their fingerprint
And yes it works even if you have
a cold Joe Gordon HSBCs
customer contact manager in the
United Kingdom says that voice
recognition works even if you
have a cold In the BBC Today
program he claimed that ldquowe will
be able to deal with people with a
cold or with slight handicaps
Things like the size of our mouth
or the vocal tract dont change
Neither does the rhythm or
accent when a person has a
slight coldrdquo
Nuance Communication is
supplying the voice biometric
technology that cross checks
more than 100 unique
identifiers including behavioral
features such as speed rhythm
and pronunciation and physical
aspects like the shape of the
larynx the nasal tract and the
nasal passage
FINTECH SERIE middot FEBRERY 2016 middot wwwcentrodeinnovacionbbvacomen
According to a YouGov survey
published by HSBC the British
believe that along with voice
and touch the heart beats the
hair and even the saliva could
be used as passwords in the
future According to the survey
38 of people use the same
password for most of their
accounts while 55 say that
they rarely update their
passwords 78 of the 2038
adults surveyed were sure that
their body was the only thing
that could be used as a
password and 74 felt that it
would become the default
password in the future
FINTECH SERIE middot FEBRUARY 2016 middot wwwcentrodeinnovacionbbvacomen
The boom of biometric devices
is gaining momentum
positioning themselves firmly in
the security monitoring and
control solutions market
05INFOGRAPHY
Biometrictechnology
Share in Pinterest
FINTECH SERIE middot FEBRUARY 2016 middot wwwcentrodeinnovacionbbvacomen
Determines an individualacutes
identity The biometric data
are compared against all
the data held in the
database
Confirms an individualacutes
identity by comparing a
simple with one or more
templates obtained
previously
Identification vs Verification
Perceptions of authentication
61
Belive that biometric authentication is
as safe as passwordsWould like to use digital fingerprint
scanning to Access their accounts
40
FINTECH SERIE middot FEBRUARY 2016 middot wwwcentrodeinnovacionbbvacomen
Biometric solutions
Iris
Facerecognition
Voicerecognition
Fingerprint
Signature
Vascular
IrisCaptures an infrared picture of the personacutes eye which isprocessed to obtain the spectral information of the iris
Face recognitionThe faceacutes features are obtained using a low-resolution camera
Voice recognitionThe voiceacutes features are based on the shape and size of the appendages used to creacuteate the sound
FingerprintA map of the fingerprintacutes peaks and troughs is registeredusing optical termal andor ultrasound technology
SignatureRecording of the act of signing on a piece of paper or tablet The movement not the image is recorded
VascularAn infrared image of the skin is taken to detect the veinsand a map of their distribution is obtained
FINTECH SERIE middot FEBRUARY 2016 middot wwwcentrodeinnovacionbbvacomen
Applications on the market
Uses of biometric authentication
Travel17
Electronics20
Banking $ finance25
Government15
Defens12
Others11
Digital print
Fingerprint
Iris
Face recognition
Others
1
30
9
59
1
FINTECH SERIE middot FEBRUARY 2016 middot wwwcentrodeinnovacionbbvacomen
BBVA Innovation Center
creates the Fintech Serie By
Innovation Edge to keep
informed about the financial
innovation trends with its
milestones analysis cases
studie interviews with experts
and infographics to display the
data that describe each of
these trends
SERIEFINTECH BY innovation edge
share
LASTEST ISSUES
Easy quickly and very efficiently
are the keys of personal
management tools (PFM)
The advance of bitcoin and
payments
The takeoff of emerging companies
in a competitive world
A new concept in the world
of lsquostartupsrsquo
Regiacutestratepara estar al diacutea de las uacuteltimas tendencias
centrodeinnovacionbbvacom
centrodeinnovacionbbvacominnovation-edge
siacuteguenos
BBVA no se hace responsable de las opiniones publicadas en este documento
The English newspaper mentions other
examples of banks that are embracing
biometrics
Barclays launched its voice recognition software
for its 300000 wealthiest customers in the United
Kingdom in 2013 One year later it said that this
technology had been so successful that it would
extend it to its 12 million retail banking customers
Barclays intends to offer them voice recognition
by the end of this year since ldquoit has been
incredibly popularrdquo among its wealthiest
customers who used to spend 15 minutes
checking their identity and can now do so in
less than ten seconds
Lloyds Banking Group has said that it is
considering including Amazon Echo in its online
banking services a voice-controlled hands-free
device that is only available in the United States
The bank claims that 360000 blind or visually
impaired people in the United Kingdom could
benefit from voice recognition
FINTECH SERIE middot FEBRUARY 2016 middot wwwcentrodeinnovacionbbvacomen
Royal Bank of Scotland says that
touch ID has been a ldquogreat
successrdquo following its launch last
year with over one million
customers now logging in using
their fingerprint
In the United States several banks
have tested biometric technology
and Citi has around 250000
customers who use voice
recognition authentication
Touch ID is available on all Apple
mobile devices for HSBC and First
Direct Customers have to
download the mobile banking app
and follow the instructions for
associating their fingerprint
And yes it works even if you have
a cold Joe Gordon HSBCs
customer contact manager in the
United Kingdom says that voice
recognition works even if you
have a cold In the BBC Today
program he claimed that ldquowe will
be able to deal with people with a
cold or with slight handicaps
Things like the size of our mouth
or the vocal tract dont change
Neither does the rhythm or
accent when a person has a
slight coldrdquo
Nuance Communication is
supplying the voice biometric
technology that cross checks
more than 100 unique
identifiers including behavioral
features such as speed rhythm
and pronunciation and physical
aspects like the shape of the
larynx the nasal tract and the
nasal passage
FINTECH SERIE middot FEBRERY 2016 middot wwwcentrodeinnovacionbbvacomen
According to a YouGov survey
published by HSBC the British
believe that along with voice
and touch the heart beats the
hair and even the saliva could
be used as passwords in the
future According to the survey
38 of people use the same
password for most of their
accounts while 55 say that
they rarely update their
passwords 78 of the 2038
adults surveyed were sure that
their body was the only thing
that could be used as a
password and 74 felt that it
would become the default
password in the future
FINTECH SERIE middot FEBRUARY 2016 middot wwwcentrodeinnovacionbbvacomen
The boom of biometric devices
is gaining momentum
positioning themselves firmly in
the security monitoring and
control solutions market
05INFOGRAPHY
Biometrictechnology
Share in Pinterest
FINTECH SERIE middot FEBRUARY 2016 middot wwwcentrodeinnovacionbbvacomen
Determines an individualacutes
identity The biometric data
are compared against all
the data held in the
database
Confirms an individualacutes
identity by comparing a
simple with one or more
templates obtained
previously
Identification vs Verification
Perceptions of authentication
61
Belive that biometric authentication is
as safe as passwordsWould like to use digital fingerprint
scanning to Access their accounts
40
FINTECH SERIE middot FEBRUARY 2016 middot wwwcentrodeinnovacionbbvacomen
Biometric solutions
Iris
Facerecognition
Voicerecognition
Fingerprint
Signature
Vascular
IrisCaptures an infrared picture of the personacutes eye which isprocessed to obtain the spectral information of the iris
Face recognitionThe faceacutes features are obtained using a low-resolution camera
Voice recognitionThe voiceacutes features are based on the shape and size of the appendages used to creacuteate the sound
FingerprintA map of the fingerprintacutes peaks and troughs is registeredusing optical termal andor ultrasound technology
SignatureRecording of the act of signing on a piece of paper or tablet The movement not the image is recorded
VascularAn infrared image of the skin is taken to detect the veinsand a map of their distribution is obtained
FINTECH SERIE middot FEBRUARY 2016 middot wwwcentrodeinnovacionbbvacomen
Applications on the market
Uses of biometric authentication
Travel17
Electronics20
Banking $ finance25
Government15
Defens12
Others11
Digital print
Fingerprint
Iris
Face recognition
Others
1
30
9
59
1
FINTECH SERIE middot FEBRUARY 2016 middot wwwcentrodeinnovacionbbvacomen
BBVA Innovation Center
creates the Fintech Serie By
Innovation Edge to keep
informed about the financial
innovation trends with its
milestones analysis cases
studie interviews with experts
and infographics to display the
data that describe each of
these trends
SERIEFINTECH BY innovation edge
share
LASTEST ISSUES
Easy quickly and very efficiently
are the keys of personal
management tools (PFM)
The advance of bitcoin and
payments
The takeoff of emerging companies
in a competitive world
A new concept in the world
of lsquostartupsrsquo
Regiacutestratepara estar al diacutea de las uacuteltimas tendencias
centrodeinnovacionbbvacom
centrodeinnovacionbbvacominnovation-edge
siacuteguenos
BBVA no se hace responsable de las opiniones publicadas en este documento
Royal Bank of Scotland says that
touch ID has been a ldquogreat
successrdquo following its launch last
year with over one million
customers now logging in using
their fingerprint
In the United States several banks
have tested biometric technology
and Citi has around 250000
customers who use voice
recognition authentication
Touch ID is available on all Apple
mobile devices for HSBC and First
Direct Customers have to
download the mobile banking app
and follow the instructions for
associating their fingerprint
And yes it works even if you have
a cold Joe Gordon HSBCs
customer contact manager in the
United Kingdom says that voice
recognition works even if you
have a cold In the BBC Today
program he claimed that ldquowe will
be able to deal with people with a
cold or with slight handicaps
Things like the size of our mouth
or the vocal tract dont change
Neither does the rhythm or
accent when a person has a
slight coldrdquo
Nuance Communication is
supplying the voice biometric
technology that cross checks
more than 100 unique
identifiers including behavioral
features such as speed rhythm
and pronunciation and physical
aspects like the shape of the
larynx the nasal tract and the
nasal passage
FINTECH SERIE middot FEBRERY 2016 middot wwwcentrodeinnovacionbbvacomen
According to a YouGov survey
published by HSBC the British
believe that along with voice
and touch the heart beats the
hair and even the saliva could
be used as passwords in the
future According to the survey
38 of people use the same
password for most of their
accounts while 55 say that
they rarely update their
passwords 78 of the 2038
adults surveyed were sure that
their body was the only thing
that could be used as a
password and 74 felt that it
would become the default
password in the future
FINTECH SERIE middot FEBRUARY 2016 middot wwwcentrodeinnovacionbbvacomen
The boom of biometric devices
is gaining momentum
positioning themselves firmly in
the security monitoring and
control solutions market
05INFOGRAPHY
Biometrictechnology
Share in Pinterest
FINTECH SERIE middot FEBRUARY 2016 middot wwwcentrodeinnovacionbbvacomen
Determines an individualacutes
identity The biometric data
are compared against all
the data held in the
database
Confirms an individualacutes
identity by comparing a
simple with one or more
templates obtained
previously
Identification vs Verification
Perceptions of authentication
61
Belive that biometric authentication is
as safe as passwordsWould like to use digital fingerprint
scanning to Access their accounts
40
FINTECH SERIE middot FEBRUARY 2016 middot wwwcentrodeinnovacionbbvacomen
Biometric solutions
Iris
Facerecognition
Voicerecognition
Fingerprint
Signature
Vascular
IrisCaptures an infrared picture of the personacutes eye which isprocessed to obtain the spectral information of the iris
Face recognitionThe faceacutes features are obtained using a low-resolution camera
Voice recognitionThe voiceacutes features are based on the shape and size of the appendages used to creacuteate the sound
FingerprintA map of the fingerprintacutes peaks and troughs is registeredusing optical termal andor ultrasound technology
SignatureRecording of the act of signing on a piece of paper or tablet The movement not the image is recorded
VascularAn infrared image of the skin is taken to detect the veinsand a map of their distribution is obtained
FINTECH SERIE middot FEBRUARY 2016 middot wwwcentrodeinnovacionbbvacomen
Applications on the market
Uses of biometric authentication
Travel17
Electronics20
Banking $ finance25
Government15
Defens12
Others11
Digital print
Fingerprint
Iris
Face recognition
Others
1
30
9
59
1
FINTECH SERIE middot FEBRUARY 2016 middot wwwcentrodeinnovacionbbvacomen
BBVA Innovation Center
creates the Fintech Serie By
Innovation Edge to keep
informed about the financial
innovation trends with its
milestones analysis cases
studie interviews with experts
and infographics to display the
data that describe each of
these trends
SERIEFINTECH BY innovation edge
share
LASTEST ISSUES
Easy quickly and very efficiently
are the keys of personal
management tools (PFM)
The advance of bitcoin and
payments
The takeoff of emerging companies
in a competitive world
A new concept in the world
of lsquostartupsrsquo
Regiacutestratepara estar al diacutea de las uacuteltimas tendencias
centrodeinnovacionbbvacom
centrodeinnovacionbbvacominnovation-edge
siacuteguenos
BBVA no se hace responsable de las opiniones publicadas en este documento
According to a YouGov survey
published by HSBC the British
believe that along with voice
and touch the heart beats the
hair and even the saliva could
be used as passwords in the
future According to the survey
38 of people use the same
password for most of their
accounts while 55 say that
they rarely update their
passwords 78 of the 2038
adults surveyed were sure that
their body was the only thing
that could be used as a
password and 74 felt that it
would become the default
password in the future
FINTECH SERIE middot FEBRUARY 2016 middot wwwcentrodeinnovacionbbvacomen
The boom of biometric devices
is gaining momentum
positioning themselves firmly in
the security monitoring and
control solutions market
05INFOGRAPHY
Biometrictechnology
Share in Pinterest
FINTECH SERIE middot FEBRUARY 2016 middot wwwcentrodeinnovacionbbvacomen
Determines an individualacutes
identity The biometric data
are compared against all
the data held in the
database
Confirms an individualacutes
identity by comparing a
simple with one or more
templates obtained
previously
Identification vs Verification
Perceptions of authentication
61
Belive that biometric authentication is
as safe as passwordsWould like to use digital fingerprint
scanning to Access their accounts
40
FINTECH SERIE middot FEBRUARY 2016 middot wwwcentrodeinnovacionbbvacomen
Biometric solutions
Iris
Facerecognition
Voicerecognition
Fingerprint
Signature
Vascular
IrisCaptures an infrared picture of the personacutes eye which isprocessed to obtain the spectral information of the iris
Face recognitionThe faceacutes features are obtained using a low-resolution camera
Voice recognitionThe voiceacutes features are based on the shape and size of the appendages used to creacuteate the sound
FingerprintA map of the fingerprintacutes peaks and troughs is registeredusing optical termal andor ultrasound technology
SignatureRecording of the act of signing on a piece of paper or tablet The movement not the image is recorded
VascularAn infrared image of the skin is taken to detect the veinsand a map of their distribution is obtained
FINTECH SERIE middot FEBRUARY 2016 middot wwwcentrodeinnovacionbbvacomen
Applications on the market
Uses of biometric authentication
Travel17
Electronics20
Banking $ finance25
Government15
Defens12
Others11
Digital print
Fingerprint
Iris
Face recognition
Others
1
30
9
59
1
FINTECH SERIE middot FEBRUARY 2016 middot wwwcentrodeinnovacionbbvacomen
BBVA Innovation Center
creates the Fintech Serie By
Innovation Edge to keep
informed about the financial
innovation trends with its
milestones analysis cases
studie interviews with experts
and infographics to display the
data that describe each of
these trends
SERIEFINTECH BY innovation edge
share
LASTEST ISSUES
Easy quickly and very efficiently
are the keys of personal
management tools (PFM)
The advance of bitcoin and
payments
The takeoff of emerging companies
in a competitive world
A new concept in the world
of lsquostartupsrsquo
Regiacutestratepara estar al diacutea de las uacuteltimas tendencias
centrodeinnovacionbbvacom
centrodeinnovacionbbvacominnovation-edge
siacuteguenos
BBVA no se hace responsable de las opiniones publicadas en este documento
The boom of biometric devices
is gaining momentum
positioning themselves firmly in
the security monitoring and
control solutions market
05INFOGRAPHY
Biometrictechnology
Share in Pinterest
FINTECH SERIE middot FEBRUARY 2016 middot wwwcentrodeinnovacionbbvacomen
Determines an individualacutes
identity The biometric data
are compared against all
the data held in the
database
Confirms an individualacutes
identity by comparing a
simple with one or more
templates obtained
previously
Identification vs Verification
Perceptions of authentication
61
Belive that biometric authentication is
as safe as passwordsWould like to use digital fingerprint
scanning to Access their accounts
40
FINTECH SERIE middot FEBRUARY 2016 middot wwwcentrodeinnovacionbbvacomen
Biometric solutions
Iris
Facerecognition
Voicerecognition
Fingerprint
Signature
Vascular
IrisCaptures an infrared picture of the personacutes eye which isprocessed to obtain the spectral information of the iris
Face recognitionThe faceacutes features are obtained using a low-resolution camera
Voice recognitionThe voiceacutes features are based on the shape and size of the appendages used to creacuteate the sound
FingerprintA map of the fingerprintacutes peaks and troughs is registeredusing optical termal andor ultrasound technology
SignatureRecording of the act of signing on a piece of paper or tablet The movement not the image is recorded
VascularAn infrared image of the skin is taken to detect the veinsand a map of their distribution is obtained
FINTECH SERIE middot FEBRUARY 2016 middot wwwcentrodeinnovacionbbvacomen
Applications on the market
Uses of biometric authentication
Travel17
Electronics20
Banking $ finance25
Government15
Defens12
Others11
Digital print
Fingerprint
Iris
Face recognition
Others
1
30
9
59
1
FINTECH SERIE middot FEBRUARY 2016 middot wwwcentrodeinnovacionbbvacomen
BBVA Innovation Center
creates the Fintech Serie By
Innovation Edge to keep
informed about the financial
innovation trends with its
milestones analysis cases
studie interviews with experts
and infographics to display the
data that describe each of
these trends
SERIEFINTECH BY innovation edge
share
LASTEST ISSUES
Easy quickly and very efficiently
are the keys of personal
management tools (PFM)
The advance of bitcoin and
payments
The takeoff of emerging companies
in a competitive world
A new concept in the world
of lsquostartupsrsquo
Regiacutestratepara estar al diacutea de las uacuteltimas tendencias
centrodeinnovacionbbvacom
centrodeinnovacionbbvacominnovation-edge
siacuteguenos
BBVA no se hace responsable de las opiniones publicadas en este documento
Determines an individualacutes
identity The biometric data
are compared against all
the data held in the
database
Confirms an individualacutes
identity by comparing a
simple with one or more
templates obtained
previously
Identification vs Verification
Perceptions of authentication
61
Belive that biometric authentication is
as safe as passwordsWould like to use digital fingerprint
scanning to Access their accounts
40
FINTECH SERIE middot FEBRUARY 2016 middot wwwcentrodeinnovacionbbvacomen
Biometric solutions
Iris
Facerecognition
Voicerecognition
Fingerprint
Signature
Vascular
IrisCaptures an infrared picture of the personacutes eye which isprocessed to obtain the spectral information of the iris
Face recognitionThe faceacutes features are obtained using a low-resolution camera
Voice recognitionThe voiceacutes features are based on the shape and size of the appendages used to creacuteate the sound
FingerprintA map of the fingerprintacutes peaks and troughs is registeredusing optical termal andor ultrasound technology
SignatureRecording of the act of signing on a piece of paper or tablet The movement not the image is recorded
VascularAn infrared image of the skin is taken to detect the veinsand a map of their distribution is obtained
FINTECH SERIE middot FEBRUARY 2016 middot wwwcentrodeinnovacionbbvacomen
Applications on the market
Uses of biometric authentication
Travel17
Electronics20
Banking $ finance25
Government15
Defens12
Others11
Digital print
Fingerprint
Iris
Face recognition
Others
1
30
9
59
1
FINTECH SERIE middot FEBRUARY 2016 middot wwwcentrodeinnovacionbbvacomen
BBVA Innovation Center
creates the Fintech Serie By
Innovation Edge to keep
informed about the financial
innovation trends with its
milestones analysis cases
studie interviews with experts
and infographics to display the
data that describe each of
these trends
SERIEFINTECH BY innovation edge
share
LASTEST ISSUES
Easy quickly and very efficiently
are the keys of personal
management tools (PFM)
The advance of bitcoin and
payments
The takeoff of emerging companies
in a competitive world
A new concept in the world
of lsquostartupsrsquo
Regiacutestratepara estar al diacutea de las uacuteltimas tendencias
centrodeinnovacionbbvacom
centrodeinnovacionbbvacominnovation-edge
siacuteguenos
BBVA no se hace responsable de las opiniones publicadas en este documento
Biometric solutions
Iris
Facerecognition
Voicerecognition
Fingerprint
Signature
Vascular
IrisCaptures an infrared picture of the personacutes eye which isprocessed to obtain the spectral information of the iris
Face recognitionThe faceacutes features are obtained using a low-resolution camera
Voice recognitionThe voiceacutes features are based on the shape and size of the appendages used to creacuteate the sound
FingerprintA map of the fingerprintacutes peaks and troughs is registeredusing optical termal andor ultrasound technology
SignatureRecording of the act of signing on a piece of paper or tablet The movement not the image is recorded
VascularAn infrared image of the skin is taken to detect the veinsand a map of their distribution is obtained
FINTECH SERIE middot FEBRUARY 2016 middot wwwcentrodeinnovacionbbvacomen
Applications on the market
Uses of biometric authentication
Travel17
Electronics20
Banking $ finance25
Government15
Defens12
Others11
Digital print
Fingerprint
Iris
Face recognition
Others
1
30
9
59
1
FINTECH SERIE middot FEBRUARY 2016 middot wwwcentrodeinnovacionbbvacomen
BBVA Innovation Center
creates the Fintech Serie By
Innovation Edge to keep
informed about the financial
innovation trends with its
milestones analysis cases
studie interviews with experts
and infographics to display the
data that describe each of
these trends
SERIEFINTECH BY innovation edge
share
LASTEST ISSUES
Easy quickly and very efficiently
are the keys of personal
management tools (PFM)
The advance of bitcoin and
payments
The takeoff of emerging companies
in a competitive world
A new concept in the world
of lsquostartupsrsquo
Regiacutestratepara estar al diacutea de las uacuteltimas tendencias
centrodeinnovacionbbvacom
centrodeinnovacionbbvacominnovation-edge
siacuteguenos
BBVA no se hace responsable de las opiniones publicadas en este documento
Applications on the market
Uses of biometric authentication
Travel17
Electronics20
Banking $ finance25
Government15
Defens12
Others11
Digital print
Fingerprint
Iris
Face recognition
Others
1
30
9
59
1
FINTECH SERIE middot FEBRUARY 2016 middot wwwcentrodeinnovacionbbvacomen
BBVA Innovation Center
creates the Fintech Serie By
Innovation Edge to keep
informed about the financial
innovation trends with its
milestones analysis cases
studie interviews with experts
and infographics to display the
data that describe each of
these trends
SERIEFINTECH BY innovation edge
share
LASTEST ISSUES
Easy quickly and very efficiently
are the keys of personal
management tools (PFM)
The advance of bitcoin and
payments
The takeoff of emerging companies
in a competitive world
A new concept in the world
of lsquostartupsrsquo
Regiacutestratepara estar al diacutea de las uacuteltimas tendencias
centrodeinnovacionbbvacom
centrodeinnovacionbbvacominnovation-edge
siacuteguenos
BBVA no se hace responsable de las opiniones publicadas en este documento
BBVA Innovation Center
creates the Fintech Serie By
Innovation Edge to keep
informed about the financial
innovation trends with its
milestones analysis cases
studie interviews with experts
and infographics to display the
data that describe each of
these trends
SERIEFINTECH BY innovation edge
share
LASTEST ISSUES
Easy quickly and very efficiently
are the keys of personal
management tools (PFM)
The advance of bitcoin and
payments
The takeoff of emerging companies
in a competitive world
A new concept in the world
of lsquostartupsrsquo
Regiacutestratepara estar al diacutea de las uacuteltimas tendencias
centrodeinnovacionbbvacom
centrodeinnovacionbbvacominnovation-edge
siacuteguenos
BBVA no se hace responsable de las opiniones publicadas en este documento
Regiacutestratepara estar al diacutea de las uacuteltimas tendencias
centrodeinnovacionbbvacom
centrodeinnovacionbbvacominnovation-edge
siacuteguenos
BBVA no se hace responsable de las opiniones publicadas en este documento
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