5 simplifications for business that chatbots can provide

Now it is quite difficult to imagine how 10–15 years ago the main payment habit of the majority of Ukrainians (naturally, dictated by it’s necessity) was to stand in line at the cash register. The well-known Internet banking and payment services from fintech companies have radically changed the situation. Now we have the websites and applications, with simple and good payment forms (which, by the way, you hardly find in the EU internet cluster), loyalty programs, etc. Some go even further and transfer payment functional to where we interact with other people — on social networks and messengers. I have repeatedly talked about the benefits of chatbots, their convenience and the logic of business use, but it was not systematic enough. I decided to collect absolutely all the reasons why your business (and your customers) need a chatbot.

I talked a lot about chatbots for a long time and about it’s the most obvious and useful feature — to be the “first line” of support and to answer typical user questions via scripts. But still, bots have turned from a simple digital tool into an effective instrument that performs more complicated operations. The open API and the development of one-click payment methods allow the bot to be adjusted to get full leads in various branches of digital commerce. I will try to make out the “pros” of bot-building for payments.

Simplification of customer navigation

High-quality mobile application is indispensable. But let’s not forget that there is no universal solution for all payments requests of the modern user. It’s necessary to understand customer requests: some people like to navigate through the functionality independently (especially if it’s convenient enough), others prefer “to be led” by personal manager. They want the very personal approach they had in the bank office when communicating with the manager or at the cash desk — but also it must already be in the smartphone. Instead of «help yourself», people often want to ask questions and get answers to them in instant mode. Thanks messengers.

Fintech sphere naturally responds to this by finding a way to improve the quality of customer service, allowing them to conduct transactions directly where they communicate with people. Take, for example, money transfers that are understandable for Ukraine: a chat bot can send you a transfer amount, he will pull up the history with the latest transactions by request, show the account balance — and all of this without visiting the application.

Simplification of work with personal data

The latest version of the GDPR (here it’s relevant if you’re creating financial projects for the EU countries, as we in LeoGaming do) introduces stricter conditions for how and for what purpose banks can use and store customer data. Chat bot is based on an open API and is not a fully banking product. He may use certain services under the relevant contract with bank, but not personally deal with personal data. This can do Masterpass, for example. The question of security is largely removed from your business, because you’re not working with personal bank card data, they are already in this user’s wallet. You create only a channel of communication for the consumers, with digital goods — simple and understandable.

Simplification of the personalized customer approach

I think you are familiar with the concept of “emotional purchase.” With the development of social networks and influencer marketing, this has become one of the main reasons for spending on digital goods and more. At some point, this slows down the achievement of financial goals and plans. Spending on the classic premium banking for all users won’t work — so here is useful chat bot. You can do similar functionality in the application, but it’s longer and more expensive.

Chat bot can monitor transactions, form typical expenses and give financial advice to customers on their basis. It can give regular budget reports, remind you about regular payments (sometimes it’s better than auto-payment), and even make smarter spending decisions. All you need is a simple goal setting.

Automation of financial management and assistance in money management is an invaluable tool for loyalty. If a business teaches a customer to spend less — he/she will spend more. But already with the help of someone who advised.

Simplification of the contact with “millennials” and “generation Z”

I have already mentioned this several times in other blog entries, therefore I won’t dwell in detail. The last two generations radically changed the the consumer traditions in developed countries. Subscription instead of purchase, rent instead of ownership, chats instead of calls — all this should be taken into account. Paradoxically, the socialization level of the population is falling, but at the same time communication level is growing. If social networks were groundbreaking phenomenon for the Millennials, then messengers are a priority for the current young professionals and students. They are united by the need to solve all payment tasks without contact with a person and as seamlessly as possible. Bots allow you to transfer the payment directly to the chat, and users can configure exact communication level that suits him / her. They definitely won’t read your SMS and Viber mailings, believe me.

Simplification of the fraud control

The traditional “headache” of any transactional business. How will chat bots help here? Very simple — instant messengers are much more personalized. Distribution of any information in them passes not through a news line, but directly. For payments in chat bots you won’t attach an acquiring form — it’s inconvenient, impractical and unfriendly to user. In addition to Masterpass, there is always the possibility to integrate Telegram payments, Apple Pay, Google Pay. Tokenized transactions minimize fraud opportunities and allow you to easily screen out that kind of visitors.

Conclusion

As I said above, there is no universal tool that solves all payment problems. Chat bots are not one of them either. Nevertheless, thanks to chatbots you can simplify five aspects of your work, which allow you to both increase user loyalty and earn more and even “be in trend,” forgive me for such a cliche. If I find a more effective solution to such problems, I will definitely write about it.