Consumers are speaking, and banks are listening

: digital transformation in banking through voice user interfaces (VUI)

Abstract

The VUI technology has gained extensive popularity in the past few years, mainly due to numerousvoice devices and assistants that are becoming common amongst consumers. Industries reliant on customer service are heavily exploring the use of VUI and are finding applications of how a VUI could potentially benefit them and their customers. One of the many sectors exploring this technology is the financial services sector. The objective of this study is to explore how VUI technology could impact customer experience and satisfaction within the banking industry. Furthermore, this paper provides specific use cases of voice technology for financial institutions, while also exploring the potential of the technology to be the future of customer service within the banking industry as a whole. The research questions are answered following a qualitative and a quantitative approach in the form of expert interviews and a consumer questionnaire, while also supplemented through the study of secondary literature. The results show a rather positive impact on consumer satisfaction. For banks, “enhancing call centre experience”, providing “basic transactions”, “biometric security” and delivering “interactive education” via VUI proved to be the top four use cases amongst the 19 that were identified. While consumers and organizations are still learning about the technology and its capabilities, there is no denying that a VUI has much more to offer than just a new channel in the omni-channel world. The technology is here, evolving, and likely to stay. Consumers are certainly speaking, but are the banks listening?

Date of Award	12 Oct 2020
Original language	English
Awarding Institution	Universidade Católica Portuguesa
Supervisor	André de Almeida Pinho (Supervisor)