Stories by Chima Nwokoji
| Lagos
IN a bid to run with the tide of digital economy, fresh facts have emerged that seven Deposit Money Banks (DMBs) are already competing in not only adoption but performance efficiency and customer satisfaction in the use of Artificial Intelligence-powered chatbots.
The banks are Zenith Bank with chatbot called Ziva; Fidelity bank plc’s Ivy; First City Monument Bank’s Temi; UBA Group with its Leo, an AI-powered Facebook Messenger bot that allow users perform banking transactions; Access Bank’s Tamada; Heritage Bank’s octopus chatbot and Keystone Bank’s chatbot called oxygen.
A chatbot is a computer programme or an artificial intelligence which conducts a conversation through audio or text.
They are messaging apps which allow businesses and brands to remain online 24 hours, providing customer support by instant responses and complaint resolution.
AI, chatbots and automated, self-service technologies free up call centre employees from routine tier-1 support requests so they can focus on more complex tasks.
Back in 2017, experts from IBM projected that by 2020, more than 85 percent of all customer interactions will be handled without the need for a human agent.
Today, only a few Nigerian banks have chatbots for now.
Access Bank’s Tamara, with a female banker persona, can be accessed through Whats -App or on the bank’s website.
Some users describe Fidelity Bank’s Ivy as a ‘cool babe’ who has helped stop anxiety in online banking.
FCMB’s artificial intelligence chatbot called Temi, has also being described as a nice loving name on messenger, for a fantastic banker persona.
Heritage Bank’s octopus chatbot can be found on Telegram just as Keystone Bank’s oxygen, found on Facebook messenger or Telegram has been described as a breath of fresh air outside the bank experience. It even helps customers to buy movie tickets.
Stanbic IBTC Bank’s Sami is found on Messenger, while UBA’s Leo is available on Whatsapp and on Messenger.
Some industry watchers opine that the channel through which each chatbot is accessed could help in its acceptability and wider use by customers.
Global AI in Financial Services Survey, supported by EY and Invesco, shows the impact AI would have on financial institutions, from business models to changes in the workforce.
It noted that by 2030, FinTechs anticipate AI would have expanded their workforce by 19 percent, but data quality and access to data, as well as access to suitable talent, are all seen as major obstacles to implementing AI.
In the wake of mass adoption, survey participants’ perceptions indicate that AI may replace nearly nine percent of incumbent financial services jobs by 2030, while FinTechs anticipate AI would expand their workforce by 19 percent in the same time frame.
Artificial intelligence is in the process of transforming a variety of models in the global financial services industry, the global survey jointly conducted by the Cambridge Centre for Alternative Finance (CCAF) at the University of Cambridge Judge Business School and the World Economic Forum suggests.
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