DBS To Launch "Bank Conversationally" Innovation In India

SINGAPORE: Development Bank of Singapore (DBS) is set to roll out its latest banking innovation in India by end of this year, enabling customers to "bank conversationally" from their preferred mobile messaging app. 

The Artificial Intelligence (AI) based innovation will allow DBS customers to access banking services quickly onFacebook Messenger, said DBS.

India is DBS's highly rated emerging market especially in mobile- and internet-driven apps. 

In April, DBS launched "digibank", India's first mobile-only bank. 

Announcing this, DBS said the innovation will be simultaneously launched in Singapore along with India, and then followed in other key markets. 

It also plans to extend this service to other mobile messaging apps like WhatsApp and WeChat in the future. 

Since 2014, DBS is in the midst of investing SGD 200 million on digital banking across the region. 

Elaborating, DBS said in a statement: "For the first time in Asia Pacific, DBS customers will be able to use natural language to converse with DBS from their favourite mobile messaging app, manage their money across accounts, track expenses and even make payments in the process." 

DBS is working with US-based Kasisto, a spin-off from SRI International which created the technology behind Siri (Apple's voice assistant), to deliver this service. 

Kasisto's conversational AI platform, KAI, powers smart bots and virtual assistants with deep banking knowledge. 

Sandeep Lal, DBS Bank's Regional Head of eBusiness, said "We seek to seamlessly integrate banking into customers' everyday lives, making banking simpler and more convenient for them. 

"We know that our customers are spending time conversing on their favourite mobile messaging app, and we are immersing ourselves in the customer journey by making it easier and more convenient for them to engage us." 

"With the launch of this service, they no longer have to leave their favourite mobile messaging app to conduct their banking. Customers can converse with their bank as they would their contacts, and we will handle the rest with a strong focus on security - it's that simple," Lal stressed. 

Olivier Crespin, DBS Bank's Group Head of Digital Bank, added "With increasingly tech-savvy customers and rising smartphone usage, we have designed our digital banking services to be innovative and nimble enough to address customer needs, and be able to provide an intuitive and relevant banking experience.

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