Chatbots are becoming Banks’ Primary Focus

Almost every sector is experiencing a technological revolution. Chatbots, or conversational agents, are finding their place in most departments in companies of all sizes. At the forefront of this trend, you will find some of the largest banks in the world. Indeed, evidence suggests that the banking sector stands to gain the most from chatbot automation.

We believe there are two aspects that are really driving this change – consumer behaviour and financial savings.

Keep up or disappear

Consumer behaviour is changing. Continuous access to a device connected to the internet has impacted everything from the way we communicate to the way we spend. Today, we want things instantly. We want answers to our questions now, not in 48 hours and we certainly don’t want to be placed on hold! We value our time above most other things, and anything that eats into it is considered completely unacceptable.

Why is it, then, that most large businesses still have response delays on contact forms or phone lines?

Recent research by ubisend shows 69% of consumers would rather ask questions to a machine vs a human in order to get an instant answer. Fast, personal and painless communication between a bank and its customers is becoming a must-have rather than a nice-to- have. In a survey by Gartner, 89% of business stated a personalised customer experience is already becoming their main point of competition. To keep up, large banks must adapt. Thankfully, some are already taking the steps needed to offer their customers the comfort they now expect.

Chatbots save banks time and money

Using chatbots in banking communication saves businesses’ money. Chatbots can automate a big chunk of the interactions typically handled by humans. In fact, research by Juniper Research shows banks can save between £0.38 and £0.53 per interaction by using chatbots. This amounts to a predicted over £6bn saving per year across the banking sector alone.

If you think of the most common questions customers ask their bank, they’re usually:

‘Where is the closest branch?’
‘How much do I have in my bank account?’
‘What is my credit card’s interest rate?’

These enquiries can be automated through a chatbot in no time at all. They do not require human expertise. Answering them is as easy as finding the information and copy-pasting an answer. Not only can they avoid spending expensive human time answering routine, easy questions, but they can also reallocate these humans to more complex tasks. Making efficient use of their workforce increases the saving.

Examples of chatbot automation in banking

It is worth looking at a few of the other tasks a chatbot could handle for a bank. Beyond the examples above, a chatbot might also answer:

‘How much did I spend last month?’
‘How do I apply for a credit card?’

All the answers you need are in the data, documents, or even on the website. The hurdle for customers is to find the information they need, hence them asking the service team instead of spending two hours browsing.

Capital One understood this. Eno, the company’s chatbot, can handle all sorts of FAQ-type questions. The financial enterprise even went a tad further, creating an Alexa skill. Capital One customers can now ask all their questions via voice commands.

Where will chatbots and banking go in the future?

But, chatbots can do much more than answer simple questions, thanks to the wealth of data a bank has available. What if the chatbot was able to recommend actions based on sophisticated analysis of customer accounts?

‘Should I switch plans?’
‘Where could I save money based on my day to day spending?’
‘Can you book me an appointment with my account manager?’

Erica, the chatbot for Bank of America, lives within the bank’s app. As an all-knowing chatbot, it can give accurate tips on queries such as, how to save money.

Banks are only just starting to automate some of their communication processes through chatbots. Over the coming years, we will see chatbots further satisfy our demands for instantaneity and great service, while helping banks save money on operational conversations.

By Alex Debecker, co-founder of the AI-driven chatbot building company ubisend