There has been a massive surge in the popularity of using instant messengers to provide online customer support and chatbot work. Even in the banking industry, which is notoriously conservative, have been entering the space in droves to increase customer satisfaction and lower costs.
Chatbots have found their way into corporate intranets, to provide information and training for staff, and into the Internet for all clients and potential customers. Virtually every major bank has integrated some form messenger-based chatbot into their website or as part of a mobile app.
“There is a lot of interest in the FinTech community in using automated messengers to interact with customers,” Alexey Kulyk[1], Director of Products at the international payment provider Maxpay, shares, expressing confidence that using messengers and chatbots are more than just a fad. He believes that chatbots are becoming an integral part of any marketing and customer satisfaction plan.
“In such a dynamic environment, it is key to allow clients quick access to any information about your company and products, whether it is news, interest rates, new products, current balances, or financial results,” Kulyk emphasizes. “It’s critical to allow clients quick access to any information about your company and products.”
The Big Surge
Two of the largest banks in Canada, a country whose banks are conservative even by banking standards, have also jumped into the game. BMO and TD have recently released voice apps that are integrated with Amazon’s voice-activated assistant, Alexa, to answer customer questions. The service is designed to not only lower costs but also allow them to field higher volumes of customer requests on their products and services in a way that is convenient to customers.
These two banks are not alone. The Big Five lenders in Canada have been ramping up investment in technology in recent years as a technological arms race has broken out. BMO hopes to win the race and has increased its technology spending last year by a whopping 13%, and plans to continue increasing spending in the future to grow its market share.
While BMO has not opted to perform transactions because of privacy and KYC concerns, Mastercard has taken its own leap with their pilot of “Mastercard Kai.” The chatbot will be able to answer questions about personal accounts, retrieve purchase histories and share information about other rewards and benefits.
Payment providers and messaging platforms are also entering the space, offering more convenient ways for merchants to manage their accounts. Telegram, for example, recently partnered with Maxpay for a TelegramBot development – a service that allows Maxpay partners to get instant access to all the financial indicators with just their smartphone in their hands.
The Big Advantages
The financial advantages to financial institutions are obvious. A simple phone call to make a payment or check on an account balance costs
