Traveling soon? Talk to your Virtual Assistant!_Design Thinking Exercise
By: Fanny Ruiz
Tags: UX, UX Design, Ui Ux Design, Banking, Design Thinking

How to solve this problem

It is trascendental to give answers to these bank customers, to support them not just while they are away, but actually to recreate for them the “whole” experience of traveling.

To accomplish that, the bank needs to know who this segment of people are. They belong to the Generation X, they were born between 1965 and 1980, so they are between 40–55 years old. Some of their characteristics are:

They have lived the analog era and now they are moving into the digital one.

They are independent, self sufficient, resilient and love to give back.

“ 74% use the internet for banking, 72% use it to research products and companies, 81% have made purchases online” (3)

As mentioned above, digital bank customers expect a lot from their banks, they want to keep the combined benefits provided by their traditional credit cards like:

No international transaction fees ( American Express, Chase, Capital One Venture or Venture Travel)

No annual fees ( Charles Schwab, Discovery, Capital One Venture)

No ATMs fees ( Bank of America, HSBC)

Transfer Miles ( Capital One, Chase Sapphire Preferred)

$100 credit for Global Entry ( American Express, Capital One Venture)

VIP lounges access ( American Express, Avianca Silver or Gold)

Exceptional Customer Service ( American Express)

Education for customers ( HSBC, Barclays)

Extra rewards, discounts, cash back( American Express, Apple Pay)

Others (Better chairs in the airplanes, travel assistant services, travel accident insurance)

It is important to assist the customers while they are traveling, as it is important to do it before and after.

The way the Whole Bank is going to solve this issue is through a voice-first banking, intelligent o virtual assistant that will allow them to manage their money anywhere 24/7, 365 days.

Photo by Austin Distel on Unsplash

Let us see some points of reference about where the digital banking experience is moving towards:

“ Most financial organizations will move to doing transactions using voice commands: Include being able to execute payments using voice commands, accounts transfers, establishing account alerts. …the integration of voice, long-term transactional analysis, geolocation and current contextual learning combined with preferences and behaviors outside of banking overtime is where the power of AI and voice commence becomes really exciting” (4)

”Some experts believe that in the next five years 50 % of the banking interactions will be via voice-first devices” (5)

To activate the virtual assistant the customer will open the Bank app, and once there, he will tap the phone screen and a microphone will show up and it will enable him to talk and ask to open the travel app. Besides voice banking the app will be using voice authentication, fingerprint or biometric recognition, in that way the bank industry will be able to add value to their customers transactions. It will provide them with a sense of safety and trust.

The virtual assistant menu:

Set up an alert for the bank

As a preparation for their trip the bank customers may set up an alert for the bank about where, when and how long the vacations will last. The bank will send an email or text message to confirm the alert is on.

2. Accounts Activity

Whole Bank customers will be allowed to check their accounts balances, recent transactions or to make transfers when they need updated information to make financial decisions.

3. Load Cash Card

Customers at Whole Bank will be able to load a cash card from their debit card money to have it available in case they want or need it, so they will no have to carry cash from their country of origin. It works basically as a gift card, charging it with the amount of their choice. They can redeem it on ATMs where the bank has agreements with, no fees will apply. The card will be embedded on the app for their use or they can request a physical card too, which will work linked to a pin number predetermined for safety.

4. Setting a budget for their trip

They will be allowed to create a budget for a specific vacation, financially it will be smart to set up an amount to expend and no have regrets later on.

5. Payment Options

Whole Bank customers will be capable to pay from the app, they will have more than one alternative available just to ensure they will not have any issues, and accordingly with the technology available at the point of sale (POS). The bank wants them to be stress free about money and will support them to be able to pay everywhere .

5.1. Digital Wallet

Photo by Christiann Koepke on Unsplash

5.1.1. They might choose to pay from Apple Pay, Samsung Pay or Google Pay at (POS) through a contactless payment (NFC) or magnetic secure transmission (MST). Additionally , the app will require validation of the transaction via fingerprint, biometric or passcode to complete it.

5.1.2. QR code

The QR code is printed on the bill or check of the POS, the client will confirm the amount, and will proceed to scan the QR from the receipt and confirms payment. A second method of confirmation will be used to protect the customers identity.

5.2 Voice command

This option will be ideal for payments everywhere, but this is a technology that is still in process to be implemented. The voice recognition system will be able to identify the client, and he will be linked to his credit card, and it will be charged by the amount of the service or product bought. The client will confirm if the amount is correct and will authorize to pay for it. It will need a second method of validation to be completed.

5.3 Physical Credit Card

Depending on the POS technology available, this will be the last source to pay with, just in case the establishment will not have other option. Customers traveling to Europe will be giving a Pin to use with their credit cards.

Regardless the method of payment, the information of the transaction will remain in the app with the purpose of creating daily reports about their expending, what category they belong to, and they will be compared with goals set up at the beginning of the trip.

6. Rewards

Incentives will be given to the bank customers that will match the benefits offered by their credit cards, and more. As a virtual bank, Whole Bank,will not spend as much money trying to attract clients as traditionally, so it will be able to pass those savings to its people.

The rewards will include:

No fees

Global entry credit for $100

VIP lounges access

Accumulation of miles

Discounts at restaurants, entertainment , parking

Excellent Customer Service

Education for customer

7. Tips

AI will grant the bank information that their clients may want or need for their trips. It will include activities related with their preferences, weather feature, new attractions etc.