Page 55 - Banking Finance December 2023

ARTICLE

right questions and provide customized solutions to every They might receive a push notification on their smart phone
customer at the bank. Such use of AI for marketing and cross when they arrive at the airport to notify them of the best
selling purposes have become a key factor for growth in foreign exchange deals so they can start spending money. Or
banks Interaction with customers' needs to be continuous, a mortgage payer who has encountered an unexpected
and not just with the sole purpose to cross sell or up sell. expense just before they are due to make their payment could
Analytics should to be used on a regular basis to offer advice be offered an emergency loan at a competitive rate. The bank
and solutions. Any kind of communication, be it customer has all of the customer's details, and has already carried out
centric messaging, sending expert recommendations to credit and KYC checks, so the actual loan-application process
improve financial health of the customer or lower costs, would potentially take just minutes.
offering tutorials - they need to feel natural and extremely
tailored. It should be about offering what the customer Different kinds of customers will have different needs that
needs and values at that point in time. The ultimate goal can be met through these AI innovations. Think of an SME
behind any interaction with the customer, digital or needing to carefully manage cash flow in the run-up to
personal, should be to serve them with a genuine intent in Deepawali or Pongal. It may need to not only give its
mind. It is during all these interactions are where tiny employees their pay packet early, as is traditional in
windows of opportunities to cross sell or up-sell lie. November/January, but also buy extra stock in order to fulfil
customer orders during this period. The bank could step in
Businesses using AI for customer service typically use it for at this stage, knowing from past data just how much revenue
handling the most basic queries. These are questions that the festive season will generate for the business, and offer
tend to come up time and time again, and have relatively a loan to finance the purchase of this stock.
simple answers. Though the questions may be framed in
slightly different ways, the system is programmed to Serving the demands of the millennials
understand the vast majority of these variations and then and beyond
learn the others. As time goes by, the system also learns to
deal with increasingly complex enquiries, meaning the need The millennial generation constitutes the largest percentage
of the workforce at present, only to increase in the future.
for human intervention is reduced. Not only does this enable The needs of this generation are completely different from
businesses to reduce their cost, it also results in a happier their predecessors. The millennials are smart, equipped with
customer - response times are quicker, and the answers they
knowledge and demand seamless experiences wherever
get are consistently accurate.
they go. But they aren't very happy with the way traditional
banking industry functions. For instance, in a consumer
While the use of AI in banking is currently picking up as more survey, 51% of millennia said they would be happier if banks
areas have been covered by it, in the future, we can expect "got" them. Time taking and Cumbersome experiences at
to see it being used in many new ways. The most significant
the banks are a strict no for millennials. This is a major
will see AI being used in the role of a salesperson. Banks
reason why they prefer competitors outside traditional
that do a good job of organizing and interpreting customer
banking models such as use of Google, Apple or PayPal.
data will be in a strong position to increase their revenues
by identifying people who are open to being sold additional The kind of tools that these new age startups are bringing
services. Whether it is the bank itself or an affiliate that with them have captured the attention of millennia's by
makes the sale, there is a massive opportunity here that, providing features such as cross platform solutions, ease of
on top of increasing revenues, will help banks provide better use and low cost. Banks need to focus on offering such
customer experience by suggesting proactively to the client seamless experiences to the millennial population to reduce
what they need at the exact time that they need it. the threat of being completely abandoned. With AI powered
analytics, a bank can understand the behavior of customers,
While data has to be used responsibly and only with the their preferences, their current financial condition and much
customer's express permission, there are many benefits for more. On the basis of this knowledge, it can cross sell with
everyone involved to use AI in this way. Besides the example personalized solutions such as what kind of an investment
of the car buyer being offered an insurance product, consider would help them get a higher return. Or offer a service right
a traveler who has bought tickets to fly abroad on holiday. at the time of need.

50 | 2023 | DECEMBER | BANKING FINANCE