BNP Paribas is multiplying its innovative projects to achieve a quality of customer experience on a par with that of the GAFAs. To achieve this goal, the Group has already invested 2.4 billion euros in its digital transformation, out of the 2.7 billion euros earmarked in its development plan.
The French bank is beefing up its customer experience by drawing inspiration from the Tech giants. BNP Paribas is looking to expand its range of services to position itself as a benchmark player in the market. Here's a closer look at the banking group's main initiatives.
Telmi, BNP Paribas' new virtual assistant
The Telmi chatbot launched by the bank in January 2019 is a perfect illustration of the transformation plan announced by the banking establishment. This solution makes it possible to respond to customer queries quickly and across multiple channels (website, mobile app, social networks, smart speakers, personal assistant). Its twin, HelloiZ, offered by BNP Paribas subsidiary Hello Bank! had been presented at VivaTech 2018.
The HelloiZ chatbot handles over 35,000 conversations a month, compared with an average of 57,000 for the Telmi chatbot. These figures testify to the central role BNP Paribas places on the customer experience. The bank aims to combine the best of digital by providing its customers with autonomy, immediacy and simplicity in their day-to-day operations.
While the two bots offer identical functionalities, they have different codes to better distinguish the two brands. Capable of answering several hundred questions, these virtual assistants enable advisors to devote more time to customer support and sales. The group recently announced that Telmi would be moving up a gear. The aim is to perfect voice control and increase the number of questions and answers handled by the bot thanks to Artificial Intelligence.
Improved traceability of customer requests
BNP Paribas is well aware of the importance of customer service management. On this point, it has taken direct inspiration from Amazon by deploying a system for tracking customer requests, made difficult by the multiplication of contact points.
This system, which replaces the eight information systems previously used by the bank, is designed to provide information on the status of a request within the bank. The infrastructure, developed with Worldline and available in France since the end of June, costs several tens of millions of euros.
Strategic partnerships
BNP Paribas' strategy is also reflected in a growing number of partnerships. For example, the bank has joined forces with six other players in the world of payments and retail to launch the Lyf Pay application. Based on a QR code system, this mobile application enables users, whatever their bank, to pay at over 9,000 partner outlets, including Auchan, Carrefour and Casino.
BNP Paribas also relies on the development of platforms to increase awareness of its services, as illustrated by its partnership with Telepass, which offers packaged mobility services in Italy. In particular, this alliance will enable BNP Paribas to develop the use of the services offered by its Operational Leasing (EL) subsidiary, Arval.
Thus, by applying the GAFA strategy, the bank on the rue d'Antin intends to stand out from the crowd in the years to come. When it comes to the security and confidentiality of customer data, however, BNP Paribas insists that it will stand out from the Net giants by investing over 500 million euros in this area every year. BNP Paribas has another trump card: the audience for its mobile application, which received 73 million contacts in Q1 2019, up 25% in one year, with interactions significantly higher than those recorded by physical branches.