Denver, Colo.-based Best Innovation Group, announced the certification of an Amazon Alexa voice skill that allows members to perform transaction-based functions for the $2 billion Spokane Valley, Wash.-based Numerica Credit Union.

The credit union, which serves Washington and Idaho, rolled out the skill to its 137,000 members via BIG's partnership with Symitar for the Financial Innovations Voice Experience platform.

BIG, described as a credit union innovation catalyst, created the Amazon Alexa skill specifically designed to allow credit union members to perform transaction-based functions. Members can transfer between accounts, make loan payments, and access balances and account histories for checking, savings, and loans. Voice commands secured by a single sign on and integrated to the Episys core processing platform activates the application.

BIG's FIVE intuitive voice interface platform enables users to access all of their credit union accounts, including checking, savings, car loans, mortgages, and credit cards. It also offers member engagement capabilities, including educational audio clips on critical topics such as security and financial literacy. Other offerings allow members to query for general information, such as loan rates or credit card balances.

BIG's FIVE platform currently supports Amazon Alexa Voice Services, but is extensible to allow financial institutions to expand to future voice-based products.

“The one-on-one member relationship has long been a key credit union difference,” BIG CEO and Co-Founder John Best explained. He noted as credit unions evolve to provide the technology solutions members value and expect, it becomes more challenging to retain that personal touch. “From the beginning of our project, we knew that the experience was important. We put a lot of effort into learning what members want to accomplish and how they speak about these activities. The objective is to optimize the member experience and enable credit unions to expand their unique branding across voice interactions.”

“We take a lot of pride in the technology we offer our members,” KayCee Murray, Numerica's VP of information technology, said. “We strive to make everyday banking easier for our members, whether in person, over the phone, or remotely. An Alexa skill gives our members yet another way to access their accounts at their convenience, allowing them to make transfers and payments, block lost debit and credit cards, and check account balances.”

BIG is among a select group of companies to create an extensible skill specifically for financial institutions, which enables Alexa access for their clients.

All skills for the Alexa voice service requires Amazon's certification prior to their availability. “We work closely with them to have every FIVE Alexa skill reviewed and tested for ease of use, frictionless user experience, consistency of interactions and security prior to their release,” Elizabeth Robins, product director, Best Innovation Group, said.

Instant Insights /

Numerica CU Asks Alexa to Supply Transaction-Based Voice Functions

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