Capital One Customers Can Pay Credit Card Bill by Voice Using Amazon Alexa-Enabled Devices

Amazon’s Alexa-enabled devices can now enable banking transactions and provide financial information, Capital One said in a news release Friday. Owners of Amazon’s Echo, Echo Dot, Tap and Fire TV can request by voice financial information such as balance, recent transactions and credit card payment due dates, and they can request payment toward a credit card bill, Capital One said. Alexa customers can enable the banking capability in the Alexa mobile app on iOS, Android or Fire tablets -- or at alexa.amazon.com -- and then pair their Alexa and Capital One accounts using their Capital One username and password. “More and more voice experiences are coming,” said Rob Pulciani, director of Amazon Alexa, in a statement. On questions about security safeguards in case of miscommunication between users and the Alexa voice engine, a Capital One spokesman told us the company “placed a major emphasis on security,” including: (1) When a customer enables the Capital One skill on the Alexa app, Capital One performs local security checks and then asks customers to sign in using their Capital One username and password, “both of which are encrypted and not shared,” and (2) Customers who want an extra layer of security can create a four-digit "personal key" that Alexa will ask them to say before providing account access, the spokesman said.