- Kentucky’s UK Credit Union is deploying IllumaSHIELD to strengthen fraud prevention and member authentication across its contact center and self-service channels.
- IllumaSHIELD shifts away from security questions and passwords as banks and credit unions adopt voice biometrics to combat AI-powered fraud, including voice cloning and social engineering attacks.
- Illuma’s technology continuously authenticates members as they speak, helping financial institutions reduce friction, shorten call times, and improve security without disrupting the customer experience.
Voice authentication solutions provider Illuma announced its latest partnership this month. The Texas-based company is teaming up with Kentucky-based UK Credit Union to help the credit union reduce fraud.
Specifically, UK Credit Union will implement IllumaSHIELD to bring authentication and fraud prevention capabilities to its contact center and self-service channels. IllumaSHIELD, which was unveiled at FinovateFall 2020, is the company’s voice security platform that leverages real-time voice authentication technology that passively verifies members as they speak, which reduces reliance on security questions and ultimately minimizes call handle time. Because the platform continuously evaluates risk throughout the interaction, it allows the credit union to step up authentication only when needed.
“AI-driven fraud is forcing financial institutions to rethink how they secure the voice channel,” said Illuma Founder and CEO Milind Borkar. “UK Credit Union is taking a forward-looking approach by adopting voice security that continuously verifies identity, blocks threats in real time, and improves both the member and agent experience—while eliminating friction from every interaction.”
As advances in generative AI have made it easier for fraudsters to clone voices, automate social engineering attacks, and bypass traditional knowledge-based authentication methods, financial institutions are having to secure voice interactions beyond asking for security questions and passwords. By providing continuous, biometric forms of identity verification, Illuma is authenticating users based on how they speak rather than what they know. Crucially, platforms like IllumaSHIELD aim to help banks and credit unions deliver this authentication without friction.
UK Credit Union anticipates that IllumaSHIELD will help it move beyond traditional knowledge-based authentication. “At UK Credit Union, protecting our members while delivering a seamless experience remains a top priority,” said UK Credit Union President and CEO Ryan Ross. “Partnering with Illuma allows us to modernize how we approach authentication and fraud prevention while creating a faster, more natural experience across our service channels.”
Headquartered in Plano, Texas, and founded in 2016, Illuma specializes in voice authentication solutions for credit unions and community banks. In addition to IllumaSHIELD, the company also offers advanced fraud prevention, adaptive multi-factor authentication (MFA), deepfake detection, and human-AI collaborative intelligence. The company most recently demoed at FinovateSpring 2025, where it won Best of Show for its deep fake detection technology.
Views: 221
