Further to our earlier news regarding IDC Digital Transformation Awards 2018 (DXa), Hong Leong Bank Berhad (HLB) has managed to win the award Omni-Experience Innovator for Malaysia.
This is due to HLB’s efforts to introduce machine learning and artificial intelligence (AI) into its customer experience, by introducing a chat advisor based on AI into its website and internet banking platforms. The AI was aimed at reducing customer wait times when calling the call centre and act as a concierge that could interact and match customer requests to bank products. Being a real-time feedback system equipped with social media monitoring ability, this improved customer satisfaction scores.
The system predicts a customer’s call intention based on their recent banking and various other interactions with the bank. For example, this could mean that if you recently applied for a credit card, the system would estimate that you may be calling regarding the activation, credit limit or balance of the said credit card and direct you to the relevant department. The machine learning aspects can also help the bank with its various cross-selling and up-selling initiatives, to provide customers with any products that the bank offers.
Domenic Fuda, Group Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer of HLB said, “We have embraced an integrated digital mindset by embedding digital considerations in everything that we do, and in this regard, we have been able to optimise our customers’ journey with HLB. Through our ethos of being ‘Digital at the Core’, we are building a digital-first banking platform that allows us to serve our customers better and reap the rewards of cost reductions and increased revenue, creating positive impact on our customers as well as our employees.”
As banking consumers, we welcome all efforts the financial institutions take to improve customer satisfaction scores. Machine learning and AI have become the latest tools in easing our lives, from smartphones to banking institutions. If this is the first step in reducing wait times and improving our interaction with the bank, we hope to see more banks adopt innovative strategies in their daily operations.
