Advertisement
Advertisement
Fintech
Get more with myNEWS
A personalised news feed of stories that matter to you
Learn more
The chatbot will be able to answer Standard Chartered customers’ questions through the bank’s mobile app and its website. Photo: Bloomberg

AI chatbot to handle customer queries at Standard Chartered from next year

Bank turns to Kasisto’s Kai Banking platform for service with a ‘human touch’

Fintech

Standard Chartered Hong Kong plans to roll out a chatbot built with a conversational artificial intelligence (AI) platform as soon as next year, depending upon regulatory approval.

The bank said the move will address customers’ need for digital services even as it helps the bank reduce its customer care costs.

The chatbot can answer customers’ questions via the bank’s mobile app or its website. The chatbot will allow retail customers to get account information, make payments, transfer money, track expenses and analyse their spending through natural and human-like conversation.

“This is just a first step in creating an even better user experience over time,” said Samir Subberwal, the regional head of retail banking for Greater China and North Asia at Standard Chartered.

“There is so much potential for using AI and chatbot technology to better serve our clients. We will continue to innovate in these areas as technological advances will create new ways for clients to engage with our bank.”

The bank has selected Kasisto’s Kai Banking platform for its track record of delivering reliable and intelligent conversations with customers of financial institutions.

“The bot has the know-how to fulfil client requests, make actionable recommendations and solve problems – while providing banking services with a human touch. It can handle all of the unique ways people communicate and when there is a need to talk to a human, the bot can seamlessly hand-off to a live agent,” said Zor Gorelov, chief executive and co-founder of Kasisto.

The Kai-powered chatbot will handle 82 per cent of customer inquiries and requests with no need for any human intervention. The service will roll out in phases and the first phase is expected to be available in the second quarter of 2018, subject to regulatory approval.

The Hong Kong Monetary Authority chief executive, Norman Chan Tak-lam, in September announced a range of measures to encourage local lenders to provide more innovative banking services. The Securities and Futures Commission as well as the Insurance Authority have also backed such initiatives.

Vicky Kong, the head of retail banking at Standard Chartered Hong Kong, said the bank had a lot of active clients who wanted to use mobile and online banking.

“Our online and mobile active clients have been growing steadily in recent years. Our priority is to provide cutting-edge technology to enhance our digital capability and to meet the growing needs of our clients. We anticipate that the chatbot will become a popular way for our customers to connect with us anytime, anywhere,” Kong said.

Post