The voice ID service of New Zealand’s Inland Revenue Department (IRD) has signed up 1.4 million customers, saving 15,000 hours of phone time each year.
Revenue Minister Todd McClay said this milestone gives the country the highest level of voice biometric enrolments per capita in the world. This helps the government win big in the battle to reduce red tape and compliance.
“Every customer who calls IRD using voice ID saves around 40 seconds per call, which equates to 15,000 hours each year customers don’t have to spend on the phone answering personal security questions to verify who they are,” McClay said in a media statement.
Voice ID went live in January 2012, and 60-70% of people who call IRD on any given day are now enrolled with it.
The system also allows customers to automatically check the balance and payment dates of their Inland Revenue accounts, receive child support information, retrieve their IRD number, activate their online services account and reset passwords, even if they call outside opening hours.