Virtual assistants

Augmented devices and automation will push banking services beyond the current mobile phone delivery model into a virtual world — but how, exactly? Bank of America, Wells Fargo and others are trying to find out.

Few firms have been able to blend predictive virtual assistants, geolocation, data analytics and other cutting-edge technology into apps like TD Bank, which has more mobile users in Canada than anyone in finance.

From digital assistants and new branching strategies to revamped hiring processes and improved cybersecurity, these are the winners of the 2018 Best Practices Awards.

In a push to be on the leading edge of technology, Tennessee-based Enrichment Federal Credit Union launched a service through Amazon's Alexa by first making sure employees knew what to do.

Moelis submits a revised Fannie/Freddie blueprint; FASB considering a plan to have banks break out charge-offs and recoveries on year-by-year basis; Wells Fargo layoffs begin with 1,000 jobs in mortgage and tech; and more from this week's most-read stories.

A Colorado business owner and the second-largest U.S. bank are set to go to court this month over his intellectual property claim that he owns the service mark for an online virtual assistant named Erica. That is the same name the bank uses for its digital assistant.

Know how many different ways customers can ask a virtual assistant to move money between accounts? The answer is one of Bank of America’s takeaways from a lot of trial and error this year in launching voice-activated services.

Brian Roemmele debriefs on Alexa’s new range of voice-activated appliances, and Dmitry Malyanov, co-founder of AdHive, shares some of the questionable ICO promotion tactics he’s seen.

An AI-powered virtual assistant could be used in a variety of ways, including helping customers to prequalify for mortgages, easing compliance and detecting problems.

The app allows customers to pick and choose the right private banker for them.

Voice assistants impress at tech demos, but new research shows bank customers aren't ready to ask a speaker about their accounts just yet.

Zach Gipson, chief innovation officer at USAA, believes in putting new technology, like chatbots, out there and learning from customers' reactions.

Wells Fargo on the receiving end of USAA's long-standing intellectual property threat; millions are mad about Erica, Bank of America's virtual assistant; relief may be in reach for bankers fed up with SARs; and more from this week's most-read stories.

Bank of America says its artificial-intelligence assistant isn't likely to listen in on private conversations the way Amazon.com's Alexa did last month.

The rapid adoption of voice assistants only adds to the notion they could one day be disruptors in commerce, payments and financial services.

The main problem is that Amazon's Alexa, Apple’s Siri and Google Assistant can’t yet verify a person’s identity. But there are already workarounds for that issue — and the tech giants may solve it soon.

Discount Bank in Tel Aviv has made several discoveries, including that customers ask more in-depth questions of its bank chatbot than expected.

Consumers are embracing voice assistants. What does this mean for banks’ business models?

U.S. Bank, Bank of America and other firms are looking toward the day when the ultimate virtual assistant arrives, one capable of being personalized and working on any device.

How new developments on many fronts are going to affect the banking business in the coming year and beyond — and what bankers can do to prepare.