The majority of Brits will use voice commands to check their bank balance and perform other basic banking tasks on their mobile phone by 2014, according to Intelligent Environments, a digital banking provider. The next two years will see an explosion of voice recognition apps and rapid uptake of voice command services for everyday tasks such as banking.
The new Apple iPhone 4S accounted for 42.8 percent of all mobile phone sales in October 2011, taking voice intelligence mainstream through the launch of Siri. 2011 has also seen rapid adoption of mobile banking services with UK usage increasing from 9.7 percent in 2010 to 20.4 percent in 2011. By the end of the year, 29 percent of smartphone users will use their mobile phones for banking. At this rate of growth – smartphone penetration in the UK has now reached 2 in 5 Brits and 70 percent of all phones sold in the UK over the past three months were smartphones– it is predicted that more than 80 percent of Brits will be using mobile banking by the start of 2014.
James Richards, Director of Mobile at Intelligent Environments, commented: “Siri has prompted a step change in the way people interact with their phones, allowing users to check their calendar appointments, send text messages and get information about the weather through voice activation. As uptake of voice synthesis smartphones increases and consumers’ lives converge onto this device, it is inevitable that everyday banking services will become voice activated.
“Synchronising voice control services such as Siri to mobile banking apps will take time-saving and simplicity to another level. Performing straight-forward banking tasks such as balance checking or asking when your most recent deposits will clear using technology like Siri will be commonplace by 2014.”
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