VoicePay could reduce fraud levels for merchants

New remote, voice-based online payments processing system has been launched

A new remote, voice-based online payments processing system has been launched, designed to improve the safety of online transactions, reduce the money lost by e-retailers because of fraud and open up new marketing channels for firms.

VoicePay is the brainchild of the founder of WorldPay, Nick Ogden, and uses Biometric Security's VoiceVault technology, which enables the retailer to validate transactions via the unique characteristics of the cardholder's vocal tract, according to the firm.

Merchants are charged less for processing payments under this new system because VoicePay has negotiated better rates from the acquiring banks owing to the sophisticated anti-fraud technology, explained Ogden. All credit card details are stored on VoicePay's centralised system, which reduces the risk of fraud on the merchant's side and means they can avoid costly compliance with PCI DSS standards, he added.

Merchants have the opportunity to offer the VoicePay service to customers online, or they could encourage consumers to make on-the-spot purchases, prompted by advertising, when they are on the move.

"Internet security and payments are not fixed yet and something has to change," argued Ogden. "Increasingly, CIOs and IT managers are having to take up a stronger interest in the marketing responsibilities of businesses, and VoicePay can provide a range of additional facilities to sell products."

Meanwhile, mobile banking and two-factor authentications specialist Fronde Anywhere is launching its services in the UK. The firm's Java and SMS-based Bank Anywhere platform enables financial institutions to roll out fully customisable banking solutions to their customers, reducing call centre calls and operational costs, according to the firm's Caroline Dewe.

She added that although the product is currently targeted at financial institutions, it could be “reused by any organisation wanting to use secure transactions with a good user experience”.

TwoSecure, meanwhile, is a two-factor authentication solution that generates a one-time password on the user's handset that can be matched to one on Fronde's servers in order to authenticate the customer. The solution is also immune to man-in-the-middle attacks, according to Dewe.

“There are a lot of hardware [authentication devices] designed for remote access but when you’re looking at mass roll-outs they’re incredibly costly to courier out, and customers lose them, so we’ve been getting an exceptional amount off interest in our product,” she added.