How one of Asia’s financial services leaders has successfully and ethically incorporated artificial intelligence to improve customer experience and internal operations
With more than half of banks increasing their investment in AI this year, this transformative technology has the capacity to revolutionize the financial services sector, as surely as mobile banking did more than a decade ago. According to American Banker’s BankThink, “Artificial intelligence now has the potential to fundamentally change customers’ relationships with banks, impacting every aspect of the lifecycle from onboarding to retention and upselling.” But how can institutions implement meaningful and ethical solutions for customers that deliver strong ROI for their institutions? One bank has established a powerful path forward.
DBS Bank is multinational banking and financial services company headquartered in Singapore. Named The Banker’s global winner of Innovator in Digital Banking, DBS is a trailblazer in generative AI. Through its test-to-implement strategy, the bank has evaluated 240 experimental AI initiatives and organized them into more than 20 practical use cases. Interviewed in Tearsheet, DBS Bank’s Chief Data & Transformation Officer Nimish Panchmatia says, “We view AI not as a replacement for human interaction, but as a powerful co-pilot to reduce toil for our employees, so they can deliver differentiated outcomes for our customers.”
Customer-facing solutions from AI will be implemented across their 500-member customer support team in Singapore by the end of 2024, helping customer service officers (CSOs) more effectively manage more than 50,000 customer queries each month. Rather than having the banking customer interact directly with AI through an interface like a chatbot, DBS Bank staff are the ones using AI as a resource for resolutions. Panchmatia says, “The system transcribes, summarizes and recommends solutions for customer queries in real-time, empowering CSOs to quickly access relevant information and provide more accurate, timely responses.”
The program is set to drive significant efficiencies while delivering nearly 100% accuracy. “We expect a 20% decrease in average handling time per service request, freeing up our CSOs to focus on more complex, high-value work,” says Panchmatia. “By automating routine tasks and providing real-time assistance, we’re not only improving operational metrics, but enhancing employees’ job satisfaction and capabilities.” Importantly, DBS chose to have staff, not the customer, engage directly with AI to maintain authenticity and personalization for the brand. Leveraging AI this way ensures human interaction at a critical point in the customer journey.
On how to scale solutions, DBS operates more like a fintech than a legacy financial institution. The bank takes AI from the test environment to actual use for staff through an operationalized structure and a culture of innovation. “We’re guided by our proprietary ‘Innovation Pyramid’ framework, says Panchmatia. “It socializes all major innovations across the bank and imbues employees with the mindset to experiment.” Solutions must also pass a rigorous ethical standard. The bank asks a series of essential questions around AI and data:
- Can we use it legally?
- Should we use it ethically?
- And how can we use it responsibly?
If you’re a financial services leader looking to serve more and serve better, get in touch with the banking experts at Adrenaline. And, don’t forget to subscribe to Believe in Banking to stay up to date with the latest news impacting the banking and credit union industries.