In the 1990s analysts believed the growth of the Internet would reduce the need for bank branches. Today the industry is moving in the other direction; branches are multiplying and moving into new areas, such as insurance and other finance-related fields.
To control branch communications costs, banks have been investing in Voice-over Internet Protocol technologies. VoIP brings significant savings, because calls are routed through a free medium rather than over phone lines. It supports data and voice communications throughout branches and it eliminates the expense of hardware-oriented PBX infrastructures.
VoIP solutions enhance productivity, are easy to administer, and improve customer service. Banks have reported a payback on investment in VoIP in under two years. Banking executives can also use such systems to receive calls through log-on IDs; that enables customers to reach them at the same phone number no matter which branch they are working at.
VoIP and Call Recording
But there is a problem.
Banks have long recorded phone calls - to confirm oral transactions, comply with federal and state regulation, provide documentation in case of a dispute, protect against threats, and train agents. They typically use bulk or complete recording for legal or compliance purposes and selective recording for training or quality monitoring.
But the rise in VoIP calls has left a growing segment of communications unrecorded and has created a need for new recording technology.
Though missing a few calls may be tolerable in a selective-recording application, bulk recording for protection from liability demands complete coverage; otherwise you may fail to record the very call you need.
VoIP Recording Solutions
There are two major types of VoIP recording solutions: passive and active.
Passive solutions, a recent development, operate independently of the customer's network by monitoring audio data recognized by real-time protocol streams and proprietary systems such as Cisco's "Skinny." The passive process, called "sniffing" the network, has been tested and found reliable.
It has two drawbacks, however. First, because the software must be installed through a SPAN port, it encounters only the data flowing through that area. Second - and this is crucial for banks - many banks encrypt sensitive data, but sniffing does not recognize encrypted messages as IP transmissions.
An active VoIP solution process is like the third party in a conference call. Because it is engaged when an IP call is initiated, encrypted calls are recorded. And because it is not connected to a specific SPAN port, all agents in the network are recorded.
There is a disadvantage, though. Because active solutions require a conference-call structure for every IP recording, they load more data onto the network. At the current level of product development, banks must therefore choose between active, passive, or a combination.
Deploying a System
Here's a quick checklist for bank executives and managers to follow and discuss with a vendor when choosing a VoIP recording solution:
- Why is VoIP recording needed? (If for compliance, the vendor does not need software for quality monitoring.)
- How many sites must be recorded?
- Should storage of the recordings be centralized or decentralized?
- Is encryption used or planned?
- Should messages be archived for permanent storage?
- What is the easiest method of search-and-replay to retrieve calls? Should it be Web-based for easier administration?
Because VoIP is a new technology, be careful about fly-by-night operations.Check the company's record, including its years of communications experience, its reputation, and its ability to provide technical support.
