This is article #6 out of 6 in the series on optimizing banking and credit union innovation and productivity through AI and cloud communications.
In financial services, the combination of strong client relationships, desirable products, and efficient service has always made for a powerful competitive advantage. Today, AI enhances and accelerates the ability to deliver on all fronts.
For example, Conversation intelligence, powered by generative AI, enhances the effectiveness of financial professionals and drives big gains in personal productivity. AI-infused communication enables the automation of routine tasks, offers important insights, and empowers your people to focus on delivering high-touch, personalized service. Banks and credit unions that recognize this opportunity and act on it early will stand apart from their peers, raising the bar for client engagement and operational excellence.
Supercharging personal productivity
AI-infused communication saves time. Imagine you could save each of your employees between three and four hours per week, on average, while also enhancing the quality of their work.
Tools like AI-powered notetaking make that possible. Imagine if every detail of every client meeting was captured in real time, then summarized and made available for later reference. With an AI-infused communications platform, AI notetaking can transcribe conversations as they happen, highlighting key points and even suggesting follow-up actions. Prior to the next meeting with that same customer, AI can bring your advisors back up to speed, reminding them of important takeaways from the conversation.
The result is greater efficiency, more meaningful conversations, and better client outcomes.
Harnessing conversation intelligence to drive growth
Client interactions often contain valuable information with the potential to drive strategic insights. Unfortunately, such details frequently slip through the cracks, and it can be difficult to discern patterns, especially where multiple agents are involved. AI can decipher vast amounts of data generated from customer interactions, providing your team with true conversation intelligence.
Understanding the nuances of client phone calls is critical to empathetic customer service. RingCentral’s AI call scoring technology can analyze conversations, evaluating them based on parameters like customer sentiment, agent empathy, and the efficiency with which a representative resolves the client’s issue. By understanding what drives customer satisfaction, banks and credit unions can tailor their processes, training, and quality assurance programs to improve and fine-tune the client experience.
AI also excels in identifying opportunities for cross-selling and upselling. By analyzing customer transaction histories, service inquiries, and engagement patterns, for example, AI can suggest relevant products or services. For instance, a credit union might recommend a personal loan to a customer who frequently makes large credit card payments, or an insurance firm could offer bundled home and auto policies to a client with an upcoming renewal date.
Identifying trends across multiple channels
The world has shifted to multichannel communications. Customers may prefer to pick up the phone for certain types of inquiries, use an online chat, or interact via SMS. They want to seamlessly switch from one channel to another without repeating themselves. By combining all these channels under one technology platform, Unified Communications as a Service (UCaaS) can offer a holistic view of your customers.
With UCaaS, AI systems can follow client interactions across various channels, identifying trending keywords and topics. For instance, if a credit union sees an uptick in mentions of credit card services, it can proactively reach out to members who might benefit from those services. This demonstrates a level of care and attentiveness that can significantly enhance client satisfaction.
Game-changing technology
Interactive Voice Assistants (IVA) are revolutionizing client communication by providing instant, 24/7 support for basic inquiries and transactions. Today’s AI-infused IVAs are accurate, fast, and easy to use. That translates into better CX. It also frees up human agents to focus on complex, higher-value interactions. IVAs can also display empathy through their word choices, which is important when handling sensitive or stressful situations.
AI-infused communication transforms customer service in other ways as well, equipping agents with AI-driven guidance in real time. Imagine, for example, that a client contacts a bank with questions about their maturing CD. The AI-powered agent assist tool provides the service agent with a comprehensive view of the client’s active CDs, maturity dates, and relevant guidelines. As the conversation progresses, the AI suggests responses based on the client’s specific concerns, ensuring that the advice given is both accurate and personalized. This seamless support fosters trust and satisfaction, enhancing the overall client experience.
AI-powered coaching
Good managers want to bring out the best in their people, but they can’t necessarily offer personalized hand-holding to every employee on their team. AI-powered coaching tools offer supervisors deep insights to help them improve employee performance, address blind spots, and improve clients’ experiences.
Imagine, for example, that your agents are getting numerous calls about a new small business loan program. AI identifies some frequently asked questions not adequately addressed on your company’s website. Moreover, AI concludes that your service personnel may lack some essential details about the program. Based on this information, supervisors can fill in the gaps with additional employee training and update the website FAQ to help customers better understand the details.
Streamline customer onboarding
For banks and credit unions, customer onboarding typically requires strict adherence to KYC/AML requirements. With the increasing demand for digital banking services, customers expect a seamless, digital-first experience. A robust, AI-infused Unified Communications platform(UCaaS), combined with contact center as a service (CCaaS), offers the convenience of secure online document sharing and easy access to live agents, enhancing the overall onboarding experience.
AI-enabled UCaaS solutions also improve communication and collaboration in account servicing. For example, AI chatbots can offer real-time support, automate routine tasks, and enable self-service for common customer issues. When extra help is needed, smart routing functionality ensures that customers are quickly connected to the right agent, enhancing efficiency and improving CX.
The right UCaaS platform can improve efficiency and service in a host of other ways, processing credit card payments securely and efficiently, for example, or streamlining loan processing. UCaaS solutions accelerate the loan application process while ensuring full compliance with regulatory requirements.
Security and compliance
Advanced UCaaS solutions come equipped with robust security and fraud detection features, offering tools to prevent internal fraud and protect against external threats. For instance, RingCentral’s UCaaS solution provides multiple layers of security and strict access controls, protecting financial institutions from fraud.
RingCentral is fully committed to security, privacy, and transparency. With features like robust encryption, multi-factor authentication, and secure communication recording, our solutions provide a clear audit trail, helping banks, insurance companies, investment firms and credit unions meet their regulatory obligations.
Artificial Intelligence and cloud communication technologies are enhancing efficiency and productivity in the financial services sector and fundamentally transforming the way institutions interact with clients, process information, and manage operations. By embracing these innovations, financial institutions can meet and exceed the expectations of their clients in this rapidly evolving digital landscape.
Learn more about our financial services solutions today.
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Originally published Oct 02, 2024, updated Nov 12, 2024
