The New Zealand bank says the platform surfaces relevant customer information as conversations unfold, eliminating the need for agents to toggle between multiple systems during a call.
Westpac NZ, a major company in New Zealand, has introduced a Microsoft platform with built-in AI to help employees have better conversations with customers and reduce contact centre wait times.
Last week, Westpac began rolling out Microsoft Dynamics 365 Contact Centre as a Service (CCaaS). When a customer calls the bank, the AI component of CCaaS supports the customer service representative by automatically providing the customer’s relevant banking profile and information about any products they may ask about in real time.
The announcement comes as new research from the bank shows broad support for using AI to improve banking services.
In a nationally representative survey of 529 people, conducted by research platform Ideally, 65% of respondents said they were comfortable or neutral about their bank using AI to help contact centre employees provide quicker responses to their questions (45% comfortable; 20% neutral), while 70% were comfortable or neutral about AI being used to detect fraud and scams (49% comfortable; 21% neutral).
Russell Jones, Westpac NZ Chief Information Officer, says introducing the new technology is a significant step.
“We’re really excited to be the first bank in New Zealand, as well as one of the first in the world, to introduce CCaaS,” Mr Jones says.
“We’re also really pleased to have had the opportunity to collaborate with Microsoft developers from across the world on the implementation of CCaaS in our business, meaning it’s been configured specifically for Westpac’s needs.
“We expect to deploy the product to all our contact centres by August, meaning configuration, delivery, testing and full deployment will have been completed within the space of one year.
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The Westpac research showed 66% of respondents were already using AI programmes – 53% in their personal lives and 30% at work.
Mr Jones says using AI to support employees in delivering faster, more informed results for customers is a win-win.
“Our people are our greatest competitive advantage – we want to use AI to support them to perform at their best.
“Previously, they might have needed to run multiple searches in our system to access details of the various products a customer might be interested in, then combine that with different views of a customer’s profile.
“A customer who’s banked with us for a long time could have a range of products, all with different terms and conditions.
“Using CCaaS means a team member can now access accurate, relevant information almost instantaneously, with the platform delivering additional product information as those topics arise in the conversation.
“Security and privacy are critical in everything we do, and, as with any information a customer shares with us, CCaaS data is secure and confidential.”
Duncan Taylor, General Manager, Financial Services Industry for Microsoft Australia New Zealand, says Microsoft is pleased to be partnering with Westpac on this initiative.
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“Westpac is the first bank in New Zealand, as well as one of the first financial institutions in the world, to launch CCaaS, and we’re pleased to be working with them,” Mr Taylor says.
“Overseas, CCaaS is being successfully used by large businesses with significant customer bases. We’re seeing this result in lower case resolution times and improved team member experience.
“Banking is a complex industry, so there’s considerable scope for CCaaS to improve both team member workflows and customer interactions.”
Mr Jones says introducing CCaaS is one more step in the bank’s digital journey.
“Over the past few years, our teams have transformed our technology infrastructure.
“As well as designing future-proof architecture, we’ve upgraded our network and systems, refreshed our mainframe and established new data centres.
“Introducing CCaaS is the latest milestone in our efforts to modernise banking and deliver better outcomes for our customers.”
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