AI IS TRANSFORMING THE BANKING INDUSTRY

Artificial Intelligence is bringing back relationship banking. Yes! It is transforming how banks engage with their customers in more personalized, frictionless, and convenient ways. The adoption of AI technology is gaining prominence, especially after the Covid-19 lockdowns that forced banks to close physical branches and push online banking.

In today’s post-pandemic world of social distancing, many banks are struggling to employ the relationship banking strategy and execution. But, thanks to Conversational AI technology that has now become more accessible and low-cost. Conversational AI is helping banks reinforce relationship banking to meet and exceed the rising customer expectations and compete with other tech-savvy players in the banking sector.


AI-powered virtual assistants leverage natural language processing and predictive analytics to provide account balance details, execute monetary transactions, offer personalized financial recommendations, and even schedule meetings with financial advisors. The virtual assistant offers a conversational interface and communicates with customers via voice, text, or through tappable prompts that appear on a mobile phone’s screen.


With the growing competition, banks are losing customers to their competitors and hence are compelled to embrace advanced technologies such as Conversational AI to enhance customer loyalty and turn customer experience into a competitive advantage. Relationship banking has the potential to transform the customer experience and increase customer lifetime value. Thus, banks are now exploring ways to blend digital into the banking experience.


Relationship Banking is More than Just Talking

For some banks, relationship banking means personal accounts, home loans, car loans, or private banking services. These are all good solutions, but all banks have the same products. Then how is your bank different? Why should customers prefer your bank over your competitors?


Money is a very emotional subject. Customers reach out to banks for many exciting and difficult reasons, from childhood education to buying a car/home or even the loss of a family member. When you hand over your customers to a robot, they feel disconnected and impersonal.


Real relationship banking is about understanding your customers as people, knowing who you are dealing with, connecting them with banking personnel who are the decision-makers, not bots, and offering a convenient digital yet conversational experience. Customers are willing to pay a premium for such personalized service.


Relationship-based Conversational Banking

Keeping customer convenience at the center stage, conversational banking is a self-service channel with a bi-directional interface between a bank and its customer, where either of the participants can initiate a conversation through any text, voice, or visual interface. AI-powered virtual assistants not just automate customer communication but turn it into a more realistic, meaningful, and human-like conversation.


These virtual assistants become a single point of contact for all the customer needs and offer recommendations based on customer conversations about their business, risk tolerance, plans, e.t.c. Unlike traditional banking where the relationship manager pushes only the products that he deals with, a virtual assistant asks the right questions to find the right products suiting customer’s situations, and advocates for them.


A Win-win Deal for Both Banks and Customers

Relationship-based conversational banking offers tangible benefits to both banks and their customers. For instance, an AI-powered virtual assistant, like a personal bank advisor, understands customer needs and offers the best possible solution. While understanding customer demand, banks can capture their customers’ financial interests and preferences. Banks will know their customer well and customers don’t have to repeat the same story over again.


For banks, conversational banking gives them access to critical data about customer goals, their financial behavior, priorities, and preferences, based on which banks can upsell or cross-sell and offer relevant recommendations. Such personalised and meaningful conversations have a greater chance to reduce customer churn and boost customer loyalty.


Are You Ready to Embrace AI in Banking?

Conversational AI will play a critical role in the way banks shape their customer journeys and the way customers interface with banks. Are you ready to embrace Conversational AI to compete and survive in this new era of relationship-based conversational banking?


Discover how FusionHawk’s AI-powered solutions can help you move to relationship-based conversational banking. Contact us at info@fusionhawk.io