Business · Companies · 9 hrs ago
Swiss court says PostFinance needed explicit consent for voiceprints
Switzerland’s Federal Administrative Court ruled against PostFinance over its collection of customers’ voiceprints.
The bank used recordings of customer calls to create digital voiceprints for caller identification.
The court said telling customers about the system and letting them opt out was not enough; banks must get explicit consent before creating biometric voiceprints.
It ordered PostFinance to obtain consent for existing voiceprints or delete them by February 15, 2027, and the bank says it will delete the collected voiceprints.
The Zürcher Kantonalbank also creates voiceprints and says it will carefully review the ruling.
The decision matters because voiceprints are sensitive data that people cannot change like passwords if the data is stolen.
Switzerland’s Federal Administrative Court ruled that PostFinance needed explicit consent to create biometric voiceprints from customers’ calls.
The court said informing customers and allowing them to opt out was not enough.
It ordered PostFinance to obtain consent for existing voiceprints or delete them by 15 February 2027.
PostFinance says it will delete the stored voiceprints by that deadline.
The ruling could affect other banks, including Zürcher Kantonalbank, which also creates customer voiceprints.
- Who
- PostFinance and its customers; the ruling was issued by Switzerland’s Federal Administrative Court.
- What
- The court ruled that PostFinance needed explicit consent to create biometric voiceprints.
- When
- The ruling was reported on 21 October 2026. PostFinance has until 15 February 2027 to obtain consent or delete the data.
- Where
- Switzerland.
- Why
- The court said voiceprints are biometric personal data and that informing customers and allowing them to opt out did not amount to explicit consent.
PostFinance
Federal Administrative Court
Consent
PostFinance
PostFinance argued that informing customers and giving them a chance to opt out was sufficient.
Federal Administrative Court
The court said creating a biometric voiceprint requires explicit consent.
Use of voiceprints
PostFinance
PostFinance said its system was secure, efficient and popular, and saved about 720,000 francs a year compared with other identification methods.
Federal Administrative Court
The court found that PostFinance had violated customers’ personal rights by collecting voiceprints without explicit consent.
PostFinance changed its voice-recognition process to ask customers for consent before identifying their voices.
The ruling was reported, with the Federal Administrative Court finding that PostFinance needed explicit consent to create voiceprints.
Deadline for PostFinance to obtain consent for existing voiceprints or delete them.
- Court
- Federal Administrative Court of Switzerland
- Consent standard
- Explicit consent required for biometric voiceprints
- Compliance deadline
- 15 February 2027
- PostFinance’s stated savings
- Around 720,000 francs a year compared with other identification methods
- Zürcher Kantonalbank
- Creates a voiceprint after calls with at least 60 seconds of speaking
What people are saying
Anyone who wants to create a biometric voiceprint needs explicit consent.
carefully analyse