Chatbot helps OCBC scoop up S$10m in home loans

Singapore

BANKS are upping their game with financial technology (fintech), with OCBC closing more than S$10 million in home loans through its chatbot application over about three months.

It said since the launch of the specialised chatbot service for home and renovation loans in January, the bank has received more than 20,000 enquiries through it.

Named "Emma", the home and renovation loan chatbot is powered by artificial intelligence, OCBC says.

It took three months for "Emma" to be fully trained to address all possible questions asked by consumers about home loans and renovation loans, with one of the top three questions being how much a consumer can borrow. The chatbot uses its built-in total debt servicing ratio (TDSR) calculator to address the query.

"Emma" is trained to identify and associate with all terminology used in the process of applying for or refinancing a home loan. As new or revised regulations come up, "Emma" can be updated to respond to new questions, the bank said.

"Emma", which is currently available on desktops, laptops and smart mobile devices, was jointly developed by OCBC's home loans team and CogniCor, one of the startups from The Open Vault at OCBC. The Open Vault is OCBC's fintech accelerator programme.

Phang Lah Hwa, OCBC's head of consumer secured lending, said: "We want consumers to get real-time information without scrolling through our website or waiting for a reply via the conventional channels.

"With a higher acceptance of virtual assistants in recent years, service-oriented chatbots are a natural progression to giving consumers better access to basic details about home loans. The response from both our staff and the consumers has been very encouraging and, as Emma continues to 'learn', we are confident that chatbots will be an even more integral part of OCBC's frontline service team in the near future."

POSB has also introduced a chatbot service to respond to customer enquiries. POSB partnered US-based Kasisto, a spin-off from SRI International which created the technology behind Apple's Siri, to deliver this service.

Separately, Standard Chartered Private Bank on Wednesday said it has introduced a digital wealth advisory tool for its relationship managers that integrates the private bank's suite of house views and investment recommendations, with Thomson Reuters' real-time market information. With the new tool, Standard Chartered says bankers can now advise clients more quickly and effectively.