ATB Financial has announced they are ready to launch payments through the help of a Facebook Messenger chatbot next month for beta testers, in what the company calls a North American first, by a full-service financial institution.
Fintech startup Finn.ai has been working with ATB Financial for months, developing and testing the feature, which allows customers to do everyday banking by texting with a Messenger chatbot.
Customers will be able to check account balances, pay bills, ask customer service related questions, and others such as locating the nearest ATM. Future enhancements will integrate money management, such as asking the chatbot how much one has spent on gas in a month, or what’s remaining in a clothing budget, for example.
Aside from Messenger on Facebook, future plans include integrating “conversational banking” via WhatsApp and SMS.
Wellington Holbrook, ATB’s Chief Transformation Officer, said in an emailed statement to iPhone in Canada, “We are transforming banking by bringing personalized chat services to our customers that will not only simplify their day-to-day banking, but also actively support their savings goals and improve their overall financial well-being as a concierge service,” adding “We want our customers to be able to make transactions on their terms, the way they want to bank. The days of banks dictating to customers how and when they can do business are behind us.”
Check out a video demo of the ATB Financial Messenger chatbot in action below:
ATB Financial launched support for Apple Pay last May, while adding in-app purchase support for ATB MasterCard shortly after.
