Press Release

Evans Bank Adds Illuma Shield Voice Authentication as Latest Customer Experience Enhancement

A 100 year-old bank deploys high-tech voice verification for convenience and security

Williamsville, NY: Evans Bank has announced voice authentication as the latest step in the financial institution’s continuous journey of digital transformation. The community bank chose Illuma Shield™ as the technology to secure customer accounts and streamline the identity verification process in its call center environment. 

A Tech Forward Attitude Serves a Time-Honored Institution and Its Customers Well

Evans Bank has been serving the Buffalo-Niagara region since 1920. Like all successful long standing brands, the organization has adapted with the times to address customer needs and concerns. In recent years, a rise in the incidence of fraud attempts has plagued the banking industry. Traditional security Q&A (knowledge based authentication) has failed to stem the tide of impersonators armed with stolen data and socially engineered access to private customer information. 

As an early adopter of state-of-the-art technology, Evans Bank chose to address this challenge with the latest in voice authentication from Illuma. Through a user-friendly interface, agents can verify enrolled customers in the first few seconds of natural conversation. The technology works in the background to match the caller’s voice with a unique AudioPrint™ that can’t be defeated even by fraudsters who have access to account numbers and security question responses.

According to Jennifer Zorn, Evans Bank’s Executive Vice President and CIO, “We were looking to remove friction from our client experience with the contact center, while also providing enhanced security for our customers’ accounts.  We were impressed with the strength of Illuma’s product and delightfully surprised that the solution could be integrated with our digital customer platform within 2 weeks.” 

Evans Bank Represents a First for Illuma

Milind Borkar, CEO and Founder of Illuma, noted that Evans Bank is the first community bank to roll out the company’s technology. “We are fortunate to have many clients and partners in the credit union space. Today we are extremely excited to announce our partnership with Evans Bank. It demonstrates that our technology serves an important need for a broader set of community focused financial institutions striving to provide secure yet convenient digital experiences for their customers. Our mission is to continue making truly affordable and highly effective voice authentication and fraud prevention solutions available for all community financial institutions without the need for a large enterprise budget.” 

About Evans Bank

Evans Bank is one of New York State’s most highly regarded and well-capitalized community banks. Organized in 1920 by a group of civic-minded citizens in Angola, NY, a century later, it has evolved into a strong, community based, full-service commercial bank. Headquartered just outside of Buffalo, Evans provides comprehensive financial services including insurance, investments and employee benefits to consumer, business and municipal clients throughout Western New York. For more information, visit https://evansbank.com/. 

About Illuma Labs

Illuma Labs is a fintech and R&D company headquartered in Plano, Texas. The company’s flagship product, Illuma Shield™, replaces traditional knowledge-based authentication practices with an effortless and secure real-time voice authentication solution to enhance customer experience, improve operational efficiency, and prevent fraud. Illuma Labs is the exclusive provider for CUNA Strategic Services and has industry endorsements in 34 U.S. states. For more information, visit https://illuma.cx.