TORONTO – Royal Bank of Canada is rolling out a translation service that provides live customer help on the phone in almost any language.
The service is aimed at attracting Canada's large immigrant population, with some one-in-five Canadians born outside the country, and 42% of immigrants not fluent in either English or French.
"We'll never win the right to their business if we're not demonstrating that we understand their culture," said an executive with the bank.
RBC has tapped Language Line, LLC in Monterey, Calif., to provide its translation service. Language Line has more than 2,600 specialized interpreters who speak more than 150 languages.
The bank began offering the service in April, with call center representatives pulling in interpreters for customers who want to communicate in a language the representative does not understand, said Mark Whitmell, RBC’s national manager, cultural and community markets. The sessions are conducted as three-way conference calls. RBC said that despite little marketing, the service has been averaging about 500 calls per month. Spanish, Russian, Vietnamese, Mandarin, and Korean are the most-requested languages.
RBC also recently redesigned its Web site dedicated to new Canadians. The site was introduced in 2005 and is available in English, French, and simplified Chinese. It gets more than 70,000 visitors a month. RBC’s branch locator map site lists 24 languages; choosing one produces a map of branches where at least three employees speak that language.
