COLOMBO: Sri Lanka’s Seylan Bank has added to its digital customer services by introducing the “Seylan Messenger Bot,” a chat bot that responds to customer queries via Facebook Messenger. The addition to the bank’s customer service channels helps provide real-time responses to basic banking and finance queries. The number of followers on its Facebook page increased to more than 500,000 during the year 2016 with the launch of youth product Seylan Seylfie which offers digital interest and banking on Facebook, the bank said in a statement. As the fastest-growing social and messaging apps, WhatsApp and Facebook messenger are used frequently by customers and the bank now empowers them to use the chat bot on messenger. “As banking and finance institutions, we need to accommodate new technology and social media that will improve our customer engagement,” said Kapila Ariyaratne, director and CEO of Seylan Bank. “As a growing number of services shift to the digital sphere, customers seek a bank that also evolves according to their preferences. By branching out to a platform used daily by customers, we enable ease of access and convenience for our customers.” Apart from the Seylan Messenger Bot, Seylan Bank previously launched social media-based customer support channels via WhatsApp and Facebook Messenger in order to facilitate interaction with customers.
The bank will complete its 29th anniversary in March and has embarked on a growth drive to consolidate its position as one of the leading banks in the country. “Seylan bank receives over 100 inquiries per day on its digitally assisted customer service channels. The Seylan Messenger Bot will minimize the response lag between queries while also freeing up our customer support personnel to take on more complex queries,” said Tilan Wijeyesekera, the deputy general manager, marketing and personal banking. “If a customer asks how to open a current account, the Messenger Bot will automatically guide the customer to the relevant page or section.”
