Jack Henry Gets Vocal With Launch of New Bill Pay Skill for Alexa

Jack Henry & Associates has launched a new bill pay product that allows credit union members to pay their bills using their voices and an Amazon Alexa smart speaker, according to an announcement from the company.

The company’s iPay QuickPay product allows members to initiate payments, review scheduled payments and get basic information about their payments history via voice commands.

“While applications of voice banking are truly just beginning to show up, Jack Henry believes they are growing and will become more sophisticated. We are happy to be a leader in developing transactional voice-enabled services for our financial institution clients, helping them to make banking more personal,” Jack Henry & Associates VP and JHA Payment Solutions General Manager Greg Adelson said.

Much of the technology behind smartspeakers relies on “skills” (on Google devices they’re called “actions”) that give the devices a range of capabilities. By installing the iPay QuickPay “skill” on their smartspeakers, members can use their voices to authenticate access with a PIN and then manage their payments.

This is not Jack Henry’s first foray into voice. About a year ago its Symitar division announced it had introduced a certified financial skill called Episys FIVE. That skill allows members to make mortgage payments, car payments or credit card payments, as well as transfer funds between accounts.

It also has attracted credit unions to voice technology, including Madison, Wisc.-based Summit Credit Union, which recently made it available to its members, according to Jack Henry.

“We want to be where the members are, when they get there,” Summit Credit Union AVP of Internet Services Chad Draheim said. “Voice is growing rapidly and we’re eager to see who our most active user segment becomes. While we expect to see a strong correlation with our mobile app usage, the application of transactional voice banking can be so much broader.”

Summit Credit Union has $3.2 billion in assets and 181,000 members.

Several other credit unions have also announced voice ventures.

In November 2017, for example, Oak Ridge, Tenn.-based Enrichment Credit Union, which has $494 million in assets and about 44,000 members, became one of the first credit unions in the country to roll out its own Alexa skill.

Abilene, Texas-based First Abilene Credit Union and Westbury, New York-based NEFCU also both announced launches of voice-based banking functions that work on Amazon Alexa and Google smart speaker devices. First Abilene has about 11,000 members and $72 million in assets; NEFCU has about 191,000 members and $3 billion in assets.

In addition, Spokane Valley, Wash.-based Numerica Credit Union, which has $2.3 billion in assets and about 145,000 members, announced that Amazon certified its Alexa voice skill as well.