This case study examines the work with a client-oriented solution of a large bank: the bank in messengers (or chat-bank) was launched in early 2021 on Telegram and WhatsApp to enable entrepreneurs to manage their finances in a familiar environment where they communicate with clients, partners, and employees. Markswebb researchers helped objectively evaluate the service and its development strategy, taking into account the best international solutions.
Entrepreneurs are constantly in contact with their partners and employees in messengers, and many also communicate with clients, providing consultations and sending payment links. To increase user activity within the online bank, it is logical to enter this territory and offer banking capabilities where it is most convenient.
Markswebb researchers clearly demonstrated the competitive position of the chat-bank, described its advantages and growth areas, outlined priorities, and selected the best examples from abroad (6 countries - China, UK, Turkey, etc.).
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The product team had its own vision of priorities based on their experience working with the bank's clients. An important task was to align this experience with Markswebb's research and international counterparts for the further effective development of the chatbot.
Markswebb researchers provide the product teams with a structured and detailed understanding of the competitive market position, gather a database of best practices in different countries, and propose specific initiatives to maintain digital leadership.
On the local market researchers test the feasibility of each scenario in clients' chatbot and the ones picked for comparison. At foreign services, we search for atypical, rare, and unique implementations.
The objective of this case study is to equip product teams with a thorough understanding of the competitive market landscape, collect best practices from multiple countries, and recommend initiatives to sustain digital leadership in business chatbots. The delivered insights aim to aid in backlog prioritization, validate hypotheses, and offer counter-arguments regarding which banking products and user scenarios should be implemented first in the chat format. This approach ensures that product teams can make informed decisions to enhance their chatbot offerings and maintain a competitive edge in the market.
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The use of messengers has not yet become widespread in the world’s market of banking chatbots. Among the platforms studied, it is more common to communicate with the bot specifically in the built-in interface of the mobile bank. However, there are exceptions:
Almost all services use machine learning technologies and are capable of recognizing textual input from the user. This makes communication with the bot as close as possible to communication with a customer support representative.
Speech recognition technology has not gained sufficient popularity. This may be due to the fact that the service is oriented towards several countries, and recognizing multiple languages by one voice assistant can be difficult.
Almost half of the studied banks have developed a specialized bot that responds to requests from legal entities. For example, these are HSBC, Hang Seng Bank, and Anna Money.
Anna Money stands out from other chatbots with its wide range of payment options. One can pay bills and invoices by entering details (searching for contacts in the database or scanning documents) and sending files to contractors. For example, the service allows payments via QR code if the seller or business owner is near the customer. In the chat, one simply needs to send the command "Get paid" and specify the amount — the QR code is generated instantly.
A concierge service offered by one of the banks solves additional tasks that may arise for entrepreneurs, rather than just duplicating the functions of an app. For example, conducting market research, monitoring competitor prices, organizing events, or finding contractors, consulting with lawyers or accountants. Typical requests include finding contacts for business leaders, schedules of business events and seminars.
Santander provides a good example of personalization. Customers can ask the bot about their spending or request simple analytics for their main expense categories. It's important that customers know about this feature in advance, as there is onboarding: the chatbot provides examples of questions that can be answered.
Each year, entrepreneurs show increasing interest in online chat as the primary communication channel with their bank. Slowly but surely, it is surpassing phone calls and visits to offices in popularity. This trend is being amplified by the active implementation of chatbots in all areas of customers' digital lives.
This case study demonstrates a strategic approach to enhancing business chatbots. By partnering with Markswebb, the client gained valuable insights into the competitive landscape, identified best practices, and implemented solutions that significantly improved user experience and customer loyalty.
Every year we conduct up to 15 studies of digital services. These are industry benchmarks that reflect the state of the market and trends.
