India’s financial landscape is undergoing a monumental transformation propelled by the power of digital banking. The digital banking market in India is expected to reach 6.1 billion U.S. dollars by the end of 2024. Advanced AI technologies and internet adoption have ushered this remarkable evolution. AI technologies such as predictive analysis, chatbots, voice bots, robo advisors, and widespread internet adoption with 900 million internet users have completely reshaped the consumption and delivery of financial services in the country.
One of the key benefits of digital banking lies in its capability to access and use financial services through smartphones. Mobile banking has been on the rise with the smartphone penetration rate in India reaching 71% by the end of 2023. Users are getting financial services at their fingertips. The days of standing in long queues to access small details such as bank balances or to transfer funds are long gone. In the year 2022, the Indian government launched 75 digital banking units, and in 2023 customers in the digital banking system completed 9192 crore digital transactions.
In addition to the increased financial literacy, communication with the users linked to the digital banking system is crucial, both in urban and rural areas. Supporting them through vernacular content, localised banking applications, and multilingual chatbots and voice bots will help spread the goal of financial inclusion for all. AI-powered chatbots and voice bots have emerged as a game changer in customer experience. Let’s look the impact they have had in the banking sector.
AI Bots: Innovating Digital Banking In 2024
The banking industry in India has been on an upward trajectory supported by strong economic growth, disposable income, easier access to financial services, and increasing consumerism. The Indian fintech sector is estimated to reach 150 billion U.S. dollars by 2025 and is currently the third largest fintech economy in the world. In FY 2023, the public sector banks in India recorded assets worth 1.7 trillion U.S. dollars, and at the same time, the assets of Indian private sector banks were 1 billion U.S. dollars.
For BFSI companies, staying on top of the rapidly changing digital era will depend on the success they have with enhanced customer experience. Customer service in the banking industry has progressed from traditional call centers to interactive voice recordings (IVR) to AI-powered chat and voice bots. In 2023, RBI leveraged AI bots to have better regulatory supervision over NBFCs and banks. This decision by RBI is in view of the fact that AI bots powered with natural language processing are enabling banks to leverage data and analytics creating convenient, affordable, and seamless solutions for people in the banking system. AI bots are revolutionizing the delivery and design of financial products and services by tailoring them to the unique needs of customers from high and low-income households, startups, and large corporations.
Voice-integrated virtual assistants such as EVA of HDFC Bank and ILA of SBI Bank have been playing extremely important roles in achieving the goal of enhanced customer experience with a better response time and availability compared to traditional agents and IVR systems. Let’s explore some of the use cases of voice bots in the banking sector.
Use Cases for Voice Banking
Resolve FAQs right away
- “What is my bank balance?”
- “ಹತ್ತಿರದ ಎಟಿಎಂ ಎಲ್ಲಿದೆ?”
- “मैं अपना पता कैसे बदल सकता हूँ?”
In banking, customers frequently ask similar questions, particularly in India in different languages. A multilingual voice bot integrated into your banking app can smoothly guide your customers from questions to answers. An AI-powered banking multilingual voice bot can have conversations with your customers just like human agents in different Indian languages and lead them to apt resolutions. Because the resolution is quick, it reduces the wait time of the customers and increases the customer experience.
Customer onboarding
Digital banking customers expect a fast and seamless onboarding experience when they decide to open a bank account. For them opening a bank account can be a hassle with a long and tiresome process and an increased amount of paperwork. Integrating voice bots into your banking application reduces paperwork and turnaround time to onboard customers. With voice-activated onboarding, customers can easily get to know all the required information, submit their documents, and track their onboarding process. Since it is the customer’s first foray into your banking system, it helps your organization to let your customers feel how technology simplifies their lives.
Voice-powered financial advisor
Customers are always on the lookout for the best options from a range of financial services. Let’s take credit cards as an example. Banks issue different types of credit cards to their customers depending on their spending habits, interest rates, reward expectations, and international usage. While a traditional IVR system more or less suggests generic suggestions, a voice bot can ask relevant questions, act like a financial advisor to the customer, and suggest the best option for their needs. It also helps the customers to make the decision quickly and complete the purchase.
Here’s an example of an interaction between a customer and a banking voice bot.
- Customer: “I’m considering buying a new car. Can you assess my finances and suggest loan options within a 5 lakh budget?”
- Voice bot: “Certainly. Based on your financial position, you qualify for competitive auto loans. Would you prefer a 3-year or 5-year term?”
- Customer: “Explore both, please. Also, check my current insurance options?”
- Voice bot: “Sure. Calculating monthly payments now. Meanwhile, I’ll check insurance options for you.”
Debt collection
Customers use banks to get credit cards and loans. They pay the bank EMIs to settle the debt. If the customers have not made loans or credit card payments, the banks have to follow up with the customers. Banks involved with such services require a great deal of capital and labor. By leveraging voice bots banks can send reminders to these customers about the upcoming or overdue payments. With these collection bots, banks can streamline their payment collection process.
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