Equity Bank rolls out social media chat bot, EVA

Equity has launched Equity Virtual Assistant (EVA), the bank’s conversational banking platform that transforms financial services by displaying banking transactions as virtual dialogues on social media platforms such as WhatsApp, Facebook Messenger, and Telegram.

EVA chatbot provides existing and new clients with digital banking and customer care services and can mimic a discussion (or chat) with a user. The experience is as simple and natural as conversing with a buddy. Customers may now manage their accounts on EVA and interact with the virtual assistant to perform transactions such as purchasing airtime, sending money, purchasing goods and services, paying bills, viewing account balances, and obtaining a statement via their preferred social networking platform.

“We are more than a bank, we are an enabler of lifestyle, fulfilling the needs and aspirations of our customers and communities. The launch of Equity Virtual Assistant, EVA, is in line with our journey to make our services and products available virtually and online. We are continually investing in technology and products that are designed to give our customers more freedom of choice, ease of access, convenience and control. Using Artificial Intelligence, EVA will be able to constantly evolve and learn from the interactions it has with customers to provide responses. We endeavor to deliver financial services to our customers wherever they are and at whatever time in a secure, convenient and flexible way.” said Equity Group Managing Director and CEO Dr. James Mwangi during the announcement that was made during the release of Q1 2022 results.

The new Equity Virtual Assistant aims to boost customer satisfaction and streamline banking processes. EVA Chatbot was motivated by Equity’s investment in cutting-edge technology such as artificial intelligence, machine learning, robotic process automation, and advanced analytics.

These technologies combine to provide users with a new and improved experience, since they may now access banking services without leaving their favorite social messaging apps. This is in addition to the technologies that have continued to fuel Equity’s business transformation, allowing it to shift from fixed cost to third-party variable channels and self-service platforms. Because of these innovations, the Bank’s transactions on mobile, internet, and third-party channels increased to 97.1 percent in the first quarter of 2022, compared to only 2.9 percent in physical branches and ATM outlets over the same period.

According to Global Web Index’s 2020 data on Social Media User Trends, Kenya has the greatest percentage of monthly WhatsApp users in comparison to the rest of the globe, with 97 percent of the country’s internet users active on WhatsApp. Kenya has over 11.75 million active social media users. This gives the Bank with a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity as it continues to build innovative products to push its digitization goal across all consumer touchpoints.

This latest innovation reaffirms the Bank’s commitment to continue assisting customers in accessing banking services conveniently and securely through the enhancement of its digital channels and providing customers with the flexibility to conduct banking transactions and engage with the Bank via a variety of social media platforms.

The new Equity Virtual Assistant can be accessed via:

• WhatsApp – Save the number 0763 000 000 on your phone and start chatting with EVA or Click https://bit.ly/EquityVirtualAssistant
• Facebook Messenger – Search EquityEva
• Telegram – Search @Equitychatbot or Click https://bit.ly/EvaTelegramChatbot