Recent events have given rise to a new set of opportunities and challenges for banks in Southeast Asia.
Region-wide lockdowns and economic instability have seen individuals and SMEs across the region turn to digital banking more than ever before, to adjust loan repayments and gain access to financial aid.
This has been coupled with unrelenting competition from financial technology (fintech) operators and neobanks that operate exclusively online and offer bespoke bank-like services to customers. An underbanked population, combined with the convenient, contact-free and ‘always-on’ affordances of these services has seen the market explode in the region. Adoption is set to increase by 50% through to the end of 2021.
While workforces across the region have adapted to work-from-home mandates, the banking industry has been late to the party. Banking regulators across the region have opposed work-from-home directives due to strict guidance around customer data. This is exemplified in Malaysia, where during the initial stages of the pandemic, most banks did not have a remote work policy in place for contact centre agents.
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It would be natural for traditional banks to approach these challenges with trepidation, wondering just how to compete with providers that operate around-the-clock without overhead costs, while freeing time to serve a growing customer base and providing assurances around security to enable workforces to operate remotely.
In my experience, the banks across Asean that have gained market share are the ones that have been aggressively disruptive in their use of digital technologies. A feature gaining traction to meet these expectations is the integration of artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning into contact centre platforms.
Gartner has identified sharp investments in AI as one of the trends driving global financial industries forward. To meet rising uptake in the region, Google has established Google Cloud Platform centres in Singapore and Jakarta, bringing organisations faster access to its Google Cloud AI capabilities.
In a bank setting, AI and machine learning can enable contact centre agents to use their time effectively and provide sophisticated customer resolutions. For instance, natural language processing (NLP) can determine the value of a call and deflect low-value interactions, such as balance enquiries and credit card waivers, to a virtual agent. Meanwhile, interactions that require human involvement can be intercepted and directed to a live agent.
For more complicated interactions, AI can analyse a customer’s recent financial activity, personal preferences and geographical location and seamlessly transition them to a browser-based chat session with the expert they require. This saves time on unnecessary transfers and adds a level of personalisation. Agents can be further equipped to solve customer queries with a digital assistant analysing customer intent and sentiment and pulling data from multiple sources to supply real-time insights and suggestions.
AI can also be leveraged to both shorten and improve the security of the customer verification process, which traditionally involves asking pesky questions to grant customers access to their money. DBS Bank, Singapore’s largest bank, has implemented voice biometrics technology into this process to analyse a caller’s speed of speech, cadence and pronunciation and verify their identity. The implementation of this tool has reduced the customer verification process by 40 seconds per call and significantly lowered fraud-related losses.
Perhaps the toughest bridge for banking leaders to cross has been enabling employees to work from home and feel trusted to complete their jobs, while providing customers with assurances around the security of their data.
We have recently seen AI being successfully adopted for this purpose with a bank in Malaysia, which has built a secure home agent solution requiring agents to verify their identity with a face biometrics mechanism. This feature is only activated when agents are on the phone, assuring them that they are not being excessively monitored while working remotely. This system has met the country’s compliance standards and increased employee productivity, as well as ensuring timely alerts are relayed during data breaches.
Banks across Asean are navigating unchartered waters, with the current environment ushering in a spate of fresh challenges. Customers across the region expect convenience, availability and intuitive service when engaging in financial interactions, which has led to the exponential rise of fintech competitors. To become digital disruptors and reclaim their slice of the customer pie, institutional banks need to leverage the time-saving and personalisation benefits of AI to improve interactions between customers and agents.
Sami Ammous is the vice president of East Asia and the Pacific at Avaya
Photo: Bloomberg
