The Bank of Maldives (BML) on Wednesday introduced a chatbot to conveniently offer information about banking services.
The chatbot named "Aaya" is available 24 hours a day with the ability to respond in both Dhivehi and English. The Dhivehi font must be used for chatting in Dhivehi. The chatbot will be available through the bank’s website, Facebook Messenger, Viber and Whatsapp.
Speaking at a press conference held to introduce the chatbot, BML CEO Karl Stumke said the global trend is towards digitalization and the bank is heading in the same direction. But it is not the final destination on the journey for BML's development, he added.
"Our purpose is to improve the quality of service, to provide a speedy service and to do so with as much care as possible," he said.
BML CEO Karl Stumke. -- Photo: Abdulla Iyan/ Adhadhu
As human error occurs at times during customer service, digitalizing would improve the quality of service and save time for customers, he said.
He went on to say that BML is not a small bank and receives one million calls a year. The annual increase in the number of calls is not an excuse for slowing down the service, he added.
The chatbot would alleviate pressure on the call center, he said, noting the high usage of social media among customers.
BML director of customer service Gulnaz Mahir shared some statistics on the number of calls made to the call center and noted that Aaya would lead to a significant improvement in the service.
"Looking at just up to April this year, we received 400,000 interactions via call, email, SMS and chat. About 80 percent of calls to the bank are interactions with customers seeking information about our services," Gulnaz said, noting the benefits of introducing the chatbot.
"For example, the types of cards we issue, their limits, information about seeking other services through internet banking or the app. The main purpose for launching Aaya's service is to provide the information that the customer wants as fast and conveniently as possible," she said.
BML director of customer service Gulnaz Mahir. -- Photo: Abdulla Iyan/ Adhadhu
Aaya was designed based on the information most commonly requested by customers, she said. But in special cases, the chatbot would immediately transfer to a bank employee.
"Information can be sought in English and Dhivehi. And if an important situation arises, [Aaya] would connect to a live customer agent," she said.
BML, which has more than 350,000 customers, expects that the time spent on phone calls to customer service would be drastically reduced with the introduction of the chatbot.
A new contact center was also established in Hulhumale' last year as part of efforts to improve the quality of BML's call center services.
