POSB to launch chatbot service

Singapore

POSB expects to conduct banking transactions via a chatbot on Facebook Messenger by the second quarter of this year, following the service's official launch on Thursday.

It also plans to extend the service to other markets, and to other mobile messaging apps such as WhatsApp and WeChat, the bank said in a media statement.

Customers can use the Facebook Messenger function to enquire about the bank's products and services. POSB said the service is driven by artificial intelligence (AI). It said since September 2016, POSB has "trained" the virtual assistant to respond to customer enquiries. This is done by feeding it with actual questions and responses taken from the bank's customer centre, the bank said.

The chatbot is expected to understand natural language, and is able to respond in real-time. The virtual assistant also has learning abilities and over time, as more customer questions are answered, it will be able to respond more accurately to enquiries, the bank said.

Since the soft launch of the service on Jan 13, all enquiries made on the social messaging platform were answered without being re-routed to the bank's customer centre, POSB said. Most of the enquiries were to do with the bank's branch locations, as well as foreign exchange rates.

The service will be available round-the-clock. By the second quarter, customers should also be able to conduct banking transactions such as balance enquiries, fund transfers and card payments via the chatbot.

POSB has partnered with US-based Kasisto, a spin-off from SRI International which created the technology behind Apple's Siri , to deliver this service. Kasisto's technology is meant to power smart bots and virtual assistants with deep banking knowledge.

"We know that our customers are spending time conversing on their favourite mobile messaging apps, and we are immersing ourselves in the customer journey by making it easier and more convenient for them to engage us," said Jeremy Soo, head of consumer banking group (Singapore), DBS Bank.