Why Marty Mcfly is not the future of banking

No doubt a few of you will recognise this extract from Back to the Future II, courtesy of IMDB:

Marty McFly: [showing the two boys how to play the shoot 'em up video game] I’ll show you, kid. I’m a crack shot at this.
[shoots a perfect score with the electronic gun]
Video Game Boy #1: You mean you have to use your hands?
Video Game Boy #2: That’s like a baby’s toy!

Poor old Marty; he was using outdated technology in a futuristic age. I can’t help thinking we might all be feeling like this as we tap our keyboards in the not-too-distant-future if some exciting ventures in utilising voice recognition come to fruition. In the last week I have heard of two which particularly caught my imagination.

First, at the Digital Money Forumlast week, a number of speakers were highlighting the potential of new voice recognition software, which could change the way we interface with our banks (or any other company). Imagine ringing up the bank, saying your name, and then being instantly transferred to a employee, who by the time the call has been connected, will have all of your details on screen. This is in contrast to the rather laborious process of entering security numbers, confirming details, answering security questions etc.

Second, over the weekend I saw an article about Google and ‘voice search’. In the words of a senior company’s executive, “We believe voice search is a new form of search and that it is core to our business.”

Although I’m not saying the end of the keyboard, touch-pad etc is nigh - it’s not impossible that our fingers might be given a rest as we use our voice to navigate the web, manage our banking, and, in the case of Marty, play computer games as well.

By Ben Andersen-Tuffnell, Programme Manager