Digitalization inevitably changed the future of the banking industry. Moreover, due to the 2020 Coronavirus pandemic, many financial institutions have further accelerated their process of digitization. In accordance with that, the already valuable contemporary solutions of the digital age gained even more significance.
Among those solutions, the AI-centred ones stand out as their services demonstrate a better compatibility with the previous year. When the AI is accompanied with machine learning and deep learning, beneficiary financial service scenarios can be reproduced endlessly. Between those scenarios, virtual assistants’ functionality, proactivity and practicality attract the greatest attention.
As an example, the World Economic Forum’s (WEF) article emphasizes the importance of digitized transactions and functionality of AI. With the assistance of a well-designed AI, digital assistants being operable and available for 24/7 is a high-rewarding asset. This way, financial institutions can compensate for the negative impact of the pandemic while at the same time obtaining greater efficiency.
However, the beneficiary attributes of virtual assistants better not be degraded down to a simple matter of efficiency. Ranging from personal banking to traditional banks, this contemporary approach can shape many branches of banking to be more future-ready. Issues of mass personalization, obtaining further responsivity, shifting towards more holistic operability and deploying a proactive mindset become available under the services of the digital assistants.
Hyper-Personalization and Virtual Assistants
Day by day, digital banking is enabling institutions to enhance the customer experience beyond its boundaries. Most of them take advantage of this opportunity by deepening their services with a more personalization-centered approach. In this HSBC report, the essentiality of personal advice is underlined repetitively. Without a doubt, being able to add value to the service provided is both advantageous and preferred.
In order to mine that value, the artificial intelligence of the virtual assistants collects necessary information from the user’s choices. Afterwards, it comes up with various future scenarios thanks to its ability to learn and forecast. Eventually, several completely personalised pieces of advice are formulated for the specific customer alone.
This way, a positive image of a bank that values each customer in-person is reflected upon its users. Thus, virtual assistants increase the customer satisfaction by being their individually-assigned financial assistant. That’s the reason why many banking apps are equipping themselves with digital assistants as the time marches on.
Responsivity: From Conventional to Conversational Banking
Although the pandemic shut down offices and branches of banks, customers need to continue their transactions on a daily basis. Thus, financial institutions are bound with a great necessity to increase their level of responsivity, even when working from home. Unsurprisingly, virtual assistants constitute a valid answer to such issues. They are operating like a full-fledged employee carried within the users’ pockets, thanks to the mobile apps.
Even more, they are not limited to mobile phones alone. From digital banking to phone-calls, virtual assistants can be encountered through every channel of the banking transactions.
Therefore, information can be gathered from the customers or be delivered to the banks from any channel. Conversational aspects of the financial services are improved. This fact enables banking to be more responsive in the end.
This way, more conversational relationships create further connectedness between the banks and the customers compared to conventional methods. So, mutual and deeper understanding of each other can be attained through the versatility of virtual assistants. This research by Softensy claims that %80 of customers evaluate bots and virtual assistants as an opportunity for banking. Eventually, customer services should better pursue ways to improve their digitalization in this direction.
Proactive Problem Solving
18th Century English poet Alexander Pope once said: “To err is human.”. Nothing has changed since then; humankind is prone to making mistakes every once in a while. However, AI is not coded to do so.
Depending on their next-level documentation and reporting systems, digital assistants are able to prevent users from making mistakes. For example, this report ensamples the use of voice assistants for emotion recognition. In this manner, they are addressing potential complications to prevent any damage to the customers in real time.
In addition, contextual engagement with the voice enabled assistants help banks to promote an impressive level of flexibility. Many complex scenarios that demand instant action are delayed due to regulatory barriers. Yet, rapidly acquired and processed voice commands disburden the users from those barriers.
Customers can reach their credit card details or account balance quicker. Therefore, customer service is advanced to the point of a better, faster and more holistic operability.
Heavy Workload Managed From a Single Centre
Last but not least, digital assistants help institutions to gain a more developed operability. AI is versatile enough to undertake the responsibilities of human employees and execute them flawlessly. Therefore, an automated workflow eases various kinds of time-consuming mandatory tasks.
From another perspective, less human interaction means fewer complexities. Since digital assistants are operating through the specific data, room for misunderstanding disappears. On top of that, having a single centre for numerous transactions minimizes customers’ struggles
The Most Evident Obstacle: Not Being Familiar
Even though virtual assistants are highly beneficial for both parties, not being familiar with them could hinder them from getting more widespread. The AI system coded in them can update itself via Natural Language Interface (NLI) and acknowledge the meanings of different words. Yet, compared to traditional methods, recognition towards a certain level of digitalization is a prerequisite for frequent use. So, providing customers with a degree of education to orchestrate their assistants more effectively is essential.
Conclusion
Applying for the contemporary solutions results in numerous opportunities that bring many benefits when seized. In order to be an effective actor within digital banking, institutions need to adapt and deploy those solutions thoroughly. Among those, virtual assistants play an important role through the various advantages they possess.
By having a functional system aligned with the needs of today, digital assistants might be on the rise for years. At least, it’s highly unlikely for them to lose their significance as long as AI and machine learning continue their reign over the banking industry. Since digital transformation is critically inevitable, acknowledging the benefits of those assistants and moving services through their direction is strongly advised.