Bank of America customers could soon interact with the bank via Facebook's Messenger app, the banking company said Tuesday.
B of A said it is working with Facebook to help bank customers “stay connected to their finances whenever and wherever they choose.”
The bank was one of nearly two dozen companies — including eBay, Burger King and CNN — to say they plan to use the Messenger platform to interact with customers through chat bots, artificial intelligence software that can understand questions and provide answers.
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Banks are slowly warming up to the idea of open APIs, essentially tools that allow banks to easily connect with others, but BBVA's Shamir Karkal says that they will likely also push banks to modernize their core systems.
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Bank of America announced Thursday that it customers can now suspend their debit cards temporarily; it is the first of several new features the bank has planned for 2016 after it tripled its digital banking budget.
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B of A said initial capabilities would enable customers to receive important real-time alerts from the bank, and that it will continue to look for other ways to use the platform. New features are expected to launch later this year.
“Bank of America sees tremendous potential in connecting our financial services expertise with Messenger to deliver enhanced access, convenience and value for our clients,” Michelle Moore, B of A's head of digital banking, said in a press release. “Messenger is a perfect complement to our connected banking proposition through 2016 and beyond.”
While B of A was the only bank mentioned as part of the bot initiative on Tuesday, Toronto-based TD Bank Group announced it would begin servicing customers via Messenger, similarly citing the desire to interact with its customers through the method of their choosing.
TD’s use of Messenger, however, is not automated. Every day between 6 a.m. and 11 p.m. Eastern time, TD customers can chat with live agents through Facebook Messenger.
