ANZ would become the first Australian bank to introduce voice biometrics on mobile devices to improve security and subsequently allow higher-value transactions.

Customers transferring a sum greater than $1000 through ANZ’s mobile apps will be able to use their voice to authorise the deposit from the middle of the year, said managing director customer experience and digital channels, Peter Dalton.

Dalton said the introduction of the new security solution would render internet and branch banking obsolete for the transferal of everyday amounts of money.

“One of the key challenges today for banking as the world becomes more digital is making it easier for customers to do what they want to do in a safe and secure way,” he said.

“Voice biometrics is the next step in making banking more convenient for our customers while also strengthening security.”

Dalton said a focus on voice biometrics gave developers access to more personalised data than fingerprints, with the technology able to tell the difference between the voices of identical twins, as well as voice recordings.

“We also know that people are becoming more comfortable with using their voice to do basic commands on their devices,” he said.

“A person’s voice has five to ten times as many security points than other methods such as fingerprints so we know this will improve security and be welcomed by our customers.

“We see this is a natural extension of current technology and we are expecting this to be a popular enhancement of our mobile apps.”