Banks Adopting Enterprise-Wide IVR Systems

Maura Ammenheuser, thePoint
November 29, 2004

Banks are increasingly turning to speech-based technology to improve customer service, reports Bank Systems & Technology magazine.

For years, banks have relied on call centers to handle consumers' questions. Automated touch-tone phone systems have typically been the link between the public and the call center. But several industry experts say the familiar touch-tone systems might soon go the way of the rotary phone.

Today, speech-enabled technology--often called IVR for interactive voice response—has finally improved to the point where banks can use it enterprise-wide for an array of functions. "I suspect over the next two to three years, this will start to proliferate," says Diane Halliwell, director of contact center solutions for Align Communications, a global IT firm headquartered in New York. "Done right, these things can really enhance your business."

Many banks already use speech technology for call steering, indicates Peter Ryan, an analyst with business information firm Datamonitor. A voice-enabled automated call system determines customers' needs through voice prompts and quickly routes calls to the appropriate personnel.

A good system lets callers skip many of the prompts they typically encounter with a touch-tone system before getting to their destination, Halliwell notes. A voice-based solution helps callers complete their business faster, which in turn increases customer satisfaction.

Soon, Datamonitor's Ryan predicts, banks also will begin relying on speech technology for more than call steering, allowing customers to access accounts, transfer funds, pay bills, and more. "Whatever customers can do on the Web, they should be able to do on the phone. Using biometric voiceprints as a security means for accessing accounts is also a strong possibility," says Ryan, although the technology must gain a proven track record before banks will rely on it for identification purposes.

Benefits Speak Volumes

While its potential in other areas remains largely untapped, the No. 1 benefit speech technology offers banks today is improved customer service. "Speech technology offers financial institutions the ability to provide customers with greater interaction and ease of use," Ryan says. For example, speech systems don't require people to spell names on the touch-tone pad. "Callers can interact directly with the interface in their own vocabulary and at their own pace. This increases customer satisfaction and long-term customer loyalty," indicates Ryan.

Voice-based technology also means cost savings for the bank, according to Align's Halliwell. The automation frees bank employees from routine matters and, by shortening calls, saves money on toll-free phone lines.

But voice-prompted banking was slow to gain momentum, Halliwell points out, because it was poorly applied for many years, prone to inaccuracies, and easily confused by background noise. "We still have issues with noise, issues with dialect, and issues with [customer] comfort," Halliwell admits, but she adds that the technology has vastly improved.

Until relatively recently, speech-enabled solutions weren't mature enough to handle banks' requirements, and the interfaces between customers and banks were poorly designed, according to Nathan David, product management director for the contact center group at San Jose-based Empirix. For example, an early-generation system might ask a caller, "What would you like to do?" “That was too open-ended, with too many potential answers,” David explains. “Today's systems limit potential answers by asking more specific questions, such as, ‘Do you want retail banking or brokerage?’”

Other recent improvements include increased computing speeds and complex algorithms used for improved speech recognition. "The technology is rapidly advancing to the point where, soon enough, the interfaces will be able to keep pace with humans and omit things such as coughs and sneezes," Datamonitor's Ryan says.

Current technology keeps behavior in mind, too, not just literal speech, Empirix's David adds. For example, if a caller wants the second of four listed options, he'll likely interrupt the menu after the second item. Even if the system doesn't recognize exactly what the caller says, it can assume the person wants the second item, because that's when he spoke.

How Can I Help You? Successful implementation of voice-enabled technology solutions requires scalable products, preferably ones "programmed in an open-standards environment to leverage existing Web offerings," Datamonitor's Ryan suggests. But the most important factor to a successful implementation, however, has less to do with the technology than with a bank's goals. Understanding the purpose of an interactive voice response solution is critical.

Why are customers calling? What do they need? How can a voice-enabled automated phone system be designed to perform necessary tasks efficiently enough to prevent the customer from abandoning the call out of frustration? Banks and vendors must build systems with these questions in mind.

If they're wise, "They're not going to implement a technology just because it's cool," says Align's Halliwell, a warning both Ryan and Empirix's David echo. "The key to this is setting it up from the customers' point of view," Halliwell adds. "Customers just want to get things done," David remarks. Half of them actually prefer a fast, automated service to human interaction, he claims. Testing users' acceptance of the technology and constantly monitoring a live system are the last, essential steps to ensuring successful deployment.

As banks gain confidence in speech technology, so does the public, Datamonitor's Ryan notes. "Customers are becoming more comfortable with bank voice deployments, and it's a result of things like Internet banking,” says Ryan. “Customers prefer using ever-improving voice systems that reduce wait times and mirror online offerings. This should be the goal of any voice system."

Maura Ammenheuser is a writer with Bank Systems and Technology Online. This article was first published by The Point for Credit Union Research and Advice at http://thepoint.cuna.org/ and is reprinted with permission.