Case Studies

Capitec: Pioneering a revolution with conversational AI in banking

---

Capitec Bank stands at the forefront of South Africa’s banking sector, distinguished not only as one of the nation’s largest retail banks but also as a pioneer in leveraging technology to prioritize client-focused digital services. This approach has set a new standard for operational efficiency and accessibility in the financial services industry, underscoring their position as a visionary in the intersection of banking and technology.

---

Improving customer experience by integrating banking services with messaging channels

When your customer base encompasses 40% of an entire nation, understanding the unique needs and challenges of this population becomes imperative. That’s precisely what propelled the Capitec team to delve deep into the behaviors and preferences of their clientele. They discovered a significant issue: Many South Africans, restricted by their devices’ limited data plans and storage capacities, often find themselves having to delete essential mobile apps, such as banking applications, to make space for indispensable communication tools like social media or WhatsApp. 

Capitec turned to LivePerson, the leader in digital customer conversations, who has helped many financial institutions implement a successful digital transformation strategy. They wanted to integrate their banking services through popular messaging platforms like WhatsApp — effectively eliminating the need for clients to choose between essential mobile apps on their devices.

This innovative solution not only preserved the convenience and accessibility of banking services but also opened new avenues for more personalized, efficient, and trust-building interactions between the bank and its customers, ensuring that Capitec remains at the forefront of client-focused banking in Africa.

“Through conversational banking, we’ve been able to provide the best client experience, create loyalty, keep our clients safe, and ensure that we comply with all the regulations around banking.”

~ Carlos Moodley, Product Head, Conversational Banking at Capitec

---

Challenge #1: Limited device capacity and data plans

Many South Africans face a significant dilemma due to limited storage and data plans on their devices, often having to delete their banking apps to accommodate social media or communication apps.

Solution: Banking through popular digital channels

Capitec collaborated with LivePerson to leverage conversational AI solutions, enabling the ability to access financial services on platforms like WhatsApp, which are essential to the daily digital interactions of their clients.

Outcomes

• Rapid growth: Capitec’s customer base grew from 16 million to 22 million, demonstrating the effectiveness of meeting banking customers on their preferred platforms.
• High adoption and engagement: Banking customers took well to Capitec’s new digital banking capabilities via various digital channels like Whatsapp and social media, with unique engagements reaching 4 million annually – often with up to 3 touchpoints with an individual customer in a given day.

“We started to deep dive into how [customers] used messaging, and their preferred channels of choice. And this is really big for us because we believe that if we’ve been bringing banking or financial services to a client in a channel that they trust, they are more likely to build a stronger relationship with that brand and drive loyalty.”

~ Carlos Moodley, Product Head, Conversational Banking at Capitec

---

Challenge #2: Operational efficiency amidst rapid growth

As Capitec experienced significant growth in their customer base, the bank needed to scale its customer service team’s capabilities without compromising on their excellent customer service or incurring unsustainable increases in operational costs.

Solution: Using conversational AI in banking to better understand and serve customers

Capitec addressed these challenges by strategically deploying a suite of generative and conversational AI tools and technologies in collaboration with LivePerson. Key components included:

• Generative Insights: Capitec used Generative Insights, a key component of LivePerson’s conversational intelligence suite, to analyze conversational data across various channels using a conversational, generative AI-powered interface. This provided actionable insights from customer data to improve customer service strategies.
• Agent Assist: Capitec introduced LivePerson’s AI agent assist tools to help customer service agents become more efficient. Tools like auto-summary helped by summarizing key points from a customer interaction before the agent joined, enabling more personalized and efficient responses.

Outcomes:

• Increased operational efficiency: Capitec was able to manage a larger volume of customer interactions without adding significantly to the call center headcount.
• Deeper customer insights: The wealth of data generated through digital interactions provided Capitec with deeper insights into customer behavior and preferences, informing future conversational AI in banking enhancements, such as the move toward WhatsApp integration and social channels.
• Operational adjustments for 24/7 service: Generative Insights revealed that clients prefer interacting outside traditional banking hours, so Capitec adjusted its operations to provide continuous service, increasing engagement. 
• Improved customer satisfaction: The bank reported a marked improvement in customer satisfaction and engagement.

“We’ve used the generative AI tools on the LivePerson platform, which I like to say we melted it into the gold … in terms of our client insights, our client requirements, our client product features that we are not as good at or features that we are actually missing.”

~ Carlos Moodley, Product Head, Conversational Banking at Capitec

---

When conversational AI in banking sets new standards

Capitec Bank’s strategic partnership with LivePerson marks a significant milestone in financial organizations’ embrace of digital transformation initiatives. By leveraging the power of conversational AI to meet their customers on popular platforms like WhatsApp, Capitec has not only addressed the unique challenges faced by the South African market but has also significantly enhanced customer satisfaction and operational efficiency. 

This collaboration has set a new standard for customer-centric banking, demonstrating that through innovative solutions, and a deep understanding of customer needs, financial institutions can achieve remarkable progress in both service delivery and customer engagement.

---

Explore the innovative solutions Capitec is using to redefine banking customer service

---