In customer dialogue with companies from the financial sector, the security of the communicated data is of the greatest relevance and importance. This is certainly one reason why many banks and financial institutions were not among the first to embrace digital communication channels, and there have also been critical voices against the digital transformation and the associated technological innovations, such as chatbots or voicebots.
Various studies on the subject of digital customer dialogue clearly show that it is time for the financial industry to provide appropriate communication offerings for its customers if they want to focus on customer needs.
In this article, we look at two studies conducted in the DACH region in 2021 that address this topic: The Chatbot Study 2021 (Chatbot- Studie 2021) by ZHAW in collaboration with aiaibot (a representative sample of 1000 people from the DACH region in terms of age and gender was asked about their experiences with chatbots and voicebots in general), and the IFZ Conversational Banking Study 2021 by the Lucerne University of Applied Sciences and Arts (IFZ Conversational Banking Studie 2021: This study included an online survey with 3410 male and female banking customers from Switzerland, Germany and Austria between the ages of 18 and 65 about their experiences with chats, chatbots and voicebots).
We are particularly interested in what customers think of communication with digital helpers and how their attitude to this has developed over the last three years. We then also focus in particular on what customer acceptance of chatbots and voicebots looks like in the area of banking and finance. The two studies come to very similar conclusions, which shows that the banking industry hardly differs from other industries in terms of acceptance of digital customer dialogue.
The Chatbot Study 2021 clearly shows that the acceptance of digital helpers has steadily increased over the last three years. While 40 % of the participants in the 2018 Chatbot Study (Chatbot-Studie 2018) stated that they had already interacted with a chatbot at least once, this figure had risen to a remarkable 63 % just three years later. The majority of the remaining respondents who had never interacted with a digital touchpoint could at least imagine doing so in the future.
The IFZ study on Conversational Banking 2021 comes to the same conclusion, showing that almost half of customers can imagine communicating with their bank via chat or chatbot. The study authors rightly conclude that chatbots, and in certain areas also voicebots, will certainly gain in importance in the future as a digital communication channel between banks and their customers. They add that many target groups, and not just younger customers, are making increasing use of digital communication channels, and that this form of customer dialogue has even become a matter of course for many of them.
In the case of banks, it is primarily the bank's own channels that are used, such as special chats on the bank's website and in the mobile or eBanking areas. Communication via other digital channels from the social media sector, such as Whatsapp or Facebook Messenger, or even the business platforms Linkedin or Microsoft Teams, tend to be less accepted for communication with the bank. The authors see this preference for the bank's own channels as being primarily due to the issue of data security. Here, internal bank channels are perceived as more trustworthy and secure, which is why banks can be recommended to introduce their own chatbots and voicebots to promote digital customer dialogue.
It should be noted here that the providers of software and solutions for chatbots generally take the issue of data protection very seriously and place data security at the center of all their activities. Of particular relevance for companies from the financial sector in this context is data hosting, which should absolutely take place either on an internal server on site or, in the case of Swiss banks, in a Swiss cloud, and this should of course be DSGVO-compliant. The Chatbot Study 21 also showed that customers trust the digital assistants and are willing to pass on their own data to the chatbot for better service.
The 2021 Chatbot Study clearly shows that what customers appreciate most about digital assistants is that they are available at all times and that communication with them is straightforward. With their help, simpler matters can be dealt with quickly and easily in a self-service process without waiting times.
The 2021 Chatbot Study clearly shows that what customers appreciate most about digital assistants is that they are available at all times and that communication with them is straightforward. With their help, simpler matters can be dealt with quickly and easily in a self-service process without waiting times.Chatbots can easily answer common questions, efficiently direct website visitors to information or forms they are looking for; however, when linked to third-party systems, they can also perform quite complex tasks, such as providing account or billing information, performing address reporting, or helping to fill out forms.
The IFZ Study comes to similar conclusions as the chatbot study with regard to the use cases for digital handling that are popular with customers: people are happy to order missing documents via chat, e.g., to prepare their tax returns or to check their account balance and change their address. Customers can also imagine changing powers of attorney or subscription limits via chat or settling questions about mobile banking in this way. According to the study, accepted use cases for processing via chatbot are bank transfers or ordering documents or bank cards, as well as answering questions about e- and mobile banking.
The studies show that use cases involving more emotional aspects are less likely to be handled on digital channels. Here, personal contact or written communication is often preferred.
Termination seems to be a special case. The IFZ Study states that the cancellation of a customer relationship or even a product is not communicated in the chat channel. Nevertheless, 41 % of the respondents can imagine terminating the banking relationship via the more impersonal chatbot. The possible reason for this could be that the chatbot always treats its counterpart equally neutrally and impartially.
The IFZ Study also found strong support for banking advice via digital channels, especially for basic products such as account solutions or credit cards (60 % of respondents).
Customer consulting digitally - why not?
The area of customer consulting is also interesting. In the Chatbot Study 2021, more than 25 % of respondents said they could well imagine receiving advice from a chatbot.The IFZ Study also found strong support for banking advice via digital channels, especially for basic products such as account solutions or credit cards (60 % of respondents). For investment products (42 %) or credit products (35 %), customers are more likely to prefer advice from an employee.
Here, too, it was found that acceptance of digital advice is more likely among the younger target group and for simpler products. 55 % could imagine taking out a basic banking product via chat, 42 % an investment product and only 31 % a mortgage.
Both studies show that customers currently prefer text-based chats and chatbots, while voicebots, i.e. digital voice assistants, are generally still less popular. This may also be due to the fact that implementation is rather complicated, particularly in Switzerland, with the various languages and dialects. The advantage of voicebots, according to co-author Prof. Hafner, would be that banking transactions could be carried out on the side, for example while driving, which is not possible with text-based variants. So it's quite conceivable that this channel will become more popular in the future. At the moment, however, the text-based channels chat and chatbot are clearly the favorites among customers.
Both studies show that customers currently prefer text-based chats and chatbots, while voicebots, i.e. digital voice assistants, are generally still less popular.
The results of the two studies clearly show that digital customer dialogue also has a promising future in the banking industry. Customers are now used to dealing with their concerns in text-based chat windows, and particularly appreciate the fact that chatbots are always available, even after office hours and on weekends. Customers no longer want to do without this flexibility. In terms of data security, too, they have no reservations about using chat or chatbots, at least for simpler concerns and products, if they receive fast and efficient service in return.
Against the backdrop of these findings, banks that are considering investing in digital customer dialogue and enabling their customers to communicate in this way can only be encouraged in their decision.