Digital video consulting assistant from PTA in use
In addition to the traditional local contact, more and more customers of Sparkasse Rhein Neckar Nord appreciate the convenience of being able to carry out their banking transactions conveniently from home or on the move – from mobile banking to lending via app. Sparkasse customers in the Rhine-Neckar metropolitan region have recently started receiving additional support with online banking issues from EVA, a video avatar developed by PTA IT consulting from Mannheim developed video avatar. EVA not only scores with its permanent availability, but is also a real language talent; If required, she can answer questions in German, English, French, Spanish, Turkish, Arabic and Bulgarian, depending on which language a bank customer chooses at the beginning of the consultation sequence;
The financial sector is in the midst of a profound transformation. Traditional business models are increasingly being supplemented or even completely replaced by modern digital solutions. In the banking sector, online and mobile banking trends are changing the consumer behaviour of customers, as is the advancing digitalization of society; “Customers no longer want to make banking transactions dependent on branch opening hours,” says Bernd Schindler, responsible for Media Sales at Sparkasse Rhein Neckar Nord. The savings bank, which has 29 branches and 20 self-service locations in the Rhine-Neckar metropolitan region and employs around 700 people, has recognized this development and added intelligent, intuitive digital solutions to its traditional value chain.
Digital advisory assistant EVA leaves no customer wish unfulfilled
Sparkasse Rhein Neckar Nord has taken up these challenges and, together with the Mannheim-based IT consultancy PTA, has created a digital counseling assistant, EVA, launched. The objective was clear to both players: Sparkasse Rhein Neckar Nord customers should be provided with simple and clearly understandable services that support them in their online banking, no matter when and from wherever they want to do so. The digital avatar now fulfills all these requirements. This is because it is also available when the branch counters are closed: 24 hours a day, seven days a week. And thanks to the web-based solution, it doesn’t matter where customers happen to be, because they can reach EVA via the Internet from anywhere. EVA is used for numerous customer concerns relating to online banking, whether bank customers have questions about the Sparkasse and pushTAN app or have forgotten their PIN number, want to unlock their account, apply for a higher account limit or request a registration letter to use a pushTAN connection. The video avatar is designed in such a way that it embeds all customer inquiries in end-to-end processes; This means that bank customers are guided through a triggered process in individual steps until their request is resolved to their satisfaction;
EVA is a true linguistic talent
A special feature of the digital solution is certainly its multilingualism, which EVA is fluent in. This is made possible by the basic technological structure of the avatar. This is programmed once and thus enabled to react appropriately to the situation with the right facial expressions in human-machine dialog. AI-based deep learning algorithms learn the avatar and ensure that EVA appears familiar and human. In combination with the appropriate translation, the technology ensures that EVA speaks seven languages – fluently, of course – and easily accompanies savings bank customers in German, English, French, Spanish, Turkish, Arabic and Bulgarian, depending on which language a customer selects at the start of a consultation sequence.
Further background information on the design and development of the digital video advice assistant EVA read in our Success Story.
Digital consulting assistant can be embedded quickly and used flexibly
EVA was developed by the Mannheim-based IT specialists at PTA on the basis of the implemented our own video consulting assistant NEXOVI. Since the modern digital solution is a web application and Sparkasse Rhein Neckar Nord uses it as software as a service, Video avatar EVA can be easily integrated as an iFrame on the Sparkasse website. “The integration of EVA into our existing IT infrastructure was completely uncomplicated and EVA also copes excellently with the transfer to those areas where our customers need to authenticate and log in securely,” says Bernd Schindler. And when it comes to the question of the background or position from which it should operate, Sparkasse also benefits from almost unlimited uses of the avatar. In contrast to a professional actress who is being filmed, an artificial avatar can be conveniently positioned in a frame independent of the background; “We made a conscious decision to use an avatar because we can adapt it to our requirements without much effort,” explains Bernd Schindler. “If we had relied on a professional actress, such flexible scaling would only have been possible with a lot more effort.” The simple integration into the IT landscape of Sparkasse Rhein Neckar Nord is therefore another discipline that EVA masters with flying colors.
Have we sparked your interest? Find out more about NEXOVI or contact us directly:
