Blog: Communicating with the Bank: Branches are diminishing – asynchronous chat is on the rise

The trend in recent years in communication between the bank and the client, has been the gradual decline in the number of branches and the decreasing need and willingness of customers to communicate directly with a banker. As a result, the number of branches has fallen by around ten percent in the last five years while the number of customers calling the bank directly to consult with a banker has also fallen. On the other hand, chat usage is on the rise.

Chat’s best feature is the asynchronous possibilities of written communication which gives you the advantage of being able to see the history of the entire conversation and respond whenever you have time, whether you are queuing in a shop or sitting on a bus. This form of communication is especially popular with younger clients, with communication channels such as Facebook Messenger, WhatsApp, Telegram and Apple Business Chat gaining rapid popularity.

Instant chat is also very popular when a customer needs an immediate response to an urgent question. Automated chatbots can help live operators by immediately responding to customers’ frequently asked questions using keyword analysis, which makes things a lot easier for live bank operators, freeing them up to deal with more complex requirements from clients.

In the private banking sector, a personal approach is key and customers love being able to reach their banker easily, wherever they are. The phone call is a classic alternative, but more and more, customers have come to appreciate having the option of sending their banker a direct message via the internet or mobile banking. Co-browsing is a smart way for bankers to cater to customers’ needs as part of this kind of communication. Thanks to co-browsing, the banker can access the banking app and carry out the necessary steps right before the client’s eyes. The client then simply authorises the separate transactions using a password, PIN, or biometrics.

Transitioning to digital communication is a huge opportunity for banks but also a challenge that needs to be perfectly technologically secure. In such cases, it is essential for the bank to have a built-in component within its banking ecosystem to take care of the entire communication service at every level.

Thanks to the “Communications” component of BSC’s Digital Bank OS, banks can communicate easily with their clients via all relevant channels, while also analysing their needs using artificial intelligence and machine learning to predict them in the future, enabling banks to perfectly adapt communications at both reactive and proactive levels. This is the only way to achieve the best customer experience and earn customer loyalty, which these days is rooted in the digital environment.

O autorovi

@Lubomír Tomány
Product Manager, BSC

Lubomír Tomány is responsible for the product roadmap of Digital Bank OS, with which BSC has come to dominate both the domestic and international markets, making it a key player in the field of banking sector digitisation.