Your voice is your password.

The Voice ID technology is a speaker authentication technology that captures a voice sample from a live caller, compares it to a previously stored voiceprint, and produces a confidence score of how closely the caller's voice sample matches the voiceprint. A voiceprint includes more than 100 unique physical and behavioral characteristics of a person such as length of the vocal tract, nasal passage, and pitch, cadence, accent, etc. Independent research has shown that a voiceprint is unique to an individual, just as a fingerprint is.

Voice ID makes identifying yourself easier and enhances your security. Successful Voice ID eliminates the need for entering PINs or answering additional security questions, making it possible for you to speak a simple phrase to identify yourself.

Voice ID technology's security is among the strongest in the industry. Voice ID technology is less susceptible to fraud threats that affect more traditional methods of authentication such as PINs and passwords. The system does not store an actual recording of a voice but reduces it to a voiceprint computer code. We respect your privacy including your voiceprint. Please see our Privacy Policy for more information.

Normal fluctuations in a person's voice won't cause Voice ID to fail. If you have a cold or your voice changes over the years, the system will adapt to these changes and will be able to identify you by using over 100 characteristics of your voice. However, if someone has a severe physical ailment which causes an inability or impediment to speech, you may continue to identify yourself as you do today by entering account details such as account number and telephone access code as an example.

HSBC has several measures in place to ensure that the system is not breached by a recorded playback of a person's voice. Our technology is able to quickly flag whether the spoken voice coming into the system is recorded or live, or whether speakers have changed.

There are more than 100 characteristics being measured when it comes to evaluating someone's voice and matching it against a voiceprint – unique to each person. This includes both physical characteristics – the size and shape of the larynx or nasal cavity, for example – and behavioral characteristics – rhythm of speech, intonation, accent, etc. While behaviors can be easily mimicked, physical voice characteristics cannot, and this prevents impersonators from "tricking" the system. HSBC has a number of protocols in place to ensure highly accurate matching of a person's voice against their unique voiceprint.