Sunday, 22 December 2024
DBS to roll out conversational banking in mobile messaging apps by year end
Singapore -- DBS plans to enable customers to bank conversationally from their preferred mobile messaging app by the end of the year. DBS customers will be able to use natural language to converse with DBS from their favourite mobile messaging app, manage their money across accounts, track expenses and even make payments in the process.
DBS is working with US-based Kasisto, a spin-off from SRI International which created the technology behind Siri (Apple's voice assistant), to deliver this service. Kasisto's conversational AI platform, KAI, powers smart bots and virtual assistants with deep banking knowledge.
For a start, the conversational AI technology will allow DBS customers to access banking services quickly on Facebook Messenger by the end of the year. The service will first be launched in Singapore and India, followed by DBS’ other key markets. DBS also plans to extend this service to other mobile messaging apps like WhatsApp and WeChat in the future. To view video on how it works, please click here.
The launch of this service will give DBS customers another convenient option of accessing their bank accounts. For example, if customers want to check their balance in their bank accounts, they can simply text “How much do I have?” which will be answered promptly.
DBS customers can also pay bills easily via this service. For example, by simply texting “Can you please pay my mobile bill?”, the request will be processed, but not before identifying the correct payee.
Said Sandeep Lal, Regional Head of eBusiness, DBS Bank, “At DBS, we seek to seamlessly integrate banking into customers’ everyday lives, making banking simpler and more convenient for them. We know that our customers are spending time conversing on their favourite mobile messaging app, and we are immersing ourselves in the customer journey by making it easier and more convenient for them to engage us. With the launch of this service, they no longer have to leave their favourite mobile messaging app to conduct their banking. Customers can converse with their bank as they would their contacts, and we will handle the rest with a strong focus on security – it’s that simple.”
Said Olivier Crespin, Group Head of Digital Bank, DBS Bank, “With increasingly tech-savvy customers and rising smartphone usage, we have designed our digital banking services to be innovative and nimble enough to address customer needs, and be able to provide an intuitive and relevant banking experience. Today, Kasisto's KAI already powers an artificial-intelligent virtual assistant in DBS digibank, India's first mobile-only bank. We are looking forward to rolling out banking via messaging to our customers in our key markets and we believe they will find this service to be useful and relevant to them.”
Re-disseminated by The Asian Banker
