Artificial Intelligence, Member Exclusive

Far from changing banking, chatbots aren’t keeping up with call volumes in the COVID-19 era

  • More financial institutions are using chatbots to handle increased customer service loads precipitated by coronavirus.
  • But, are those chatbots really providing meaningful experiences and value?
close

Email a Friend

Far from changing banking, chatbots aren’t keeping up with call volumes in the COVID-19 era

 


subscription wall for TS Pro

1 comments on “Far from changing banking, chatbots aren’t keeping up with call volumes in the COVID-19 era”

  • OpinionMaker ,

    Covid-19 is the ultimate stress test of systems, processes and people. Digital customer service will eventually transition from resolving issues/answering questions to improving the engagement with customers. For example, we will use these technologies to improve the account opening and loan application processes in real time, not after the fact.

    On a related front to PPP loans, we’ve seen spikes in activity due to forbearance requests and mortgage refi’s. At some point, we need to take the mindset that incremental improvement is not a friend to digital transformation.

Outlier OpinionsMakers

BNPL, Member Exclusive, Who owns the customer

Affirm’s full-stack ambition is bigger than consumer finance alone

  • Affirm began 2026 on the front foot.
  • The recent moves by the BNPL firm point to an overarching strategy: expanding from consumer checkouts into B2B distribution and institutional control.
Sara Khairi | March 05, 2026
10-Q, Member Exclusive

Coinbase rides the waves of stress and opportunity with its ‘Everything Exchange’ vision

  • 'Everything Exchange' reflects Coinbase’s ambition to be a one-stop financial platform.
  • Outgrowing its crypto exchange roots brings Coinbase fresh regulatory, competitive, and market challenges.
Sara Khairi | March 02, 2026
BNPL, Creating win-win partnerships, Embedded Finance, Member Exclusive, SMB Finance

How embedded BNPL optimizes cash flow for SMBs: Inside the Intuit-Affirm partnership

  • The Intuit-Affirm partnership embeds BNPL directly in QuickBooks invoices, transforming accounting into a real-time decision layer.
  • In the new fintech partnership model, platforms manage workflows and customers while specialists handle the decision layer to drive scalable results.
Sara Khairi | February 26, 2026
10-Q, Member Exclusive

Banking: AI, automation, and the rise of digital-first scale

  • From AI agents at Goldman to automation at Truist and lean growth at Nubank, the contours of a modern banking model are emerging.
  • Banks are rethinking human-machine cooperative roles and new ways to scale.
Sara Khairi | February 23, 2026
Member Exclusive, Numbers with Narrative, Policies & Playbooks

Open banking’s paywall era – and what it means for banks, fintechs, and policy in 2026

  • Financial innovation doesn’t follow a straight path. When it swerves, the clash between ideals and economics comes into focus.
  • With data volumes surging and regulatory clarity still elusive, a harder question is emerging: If access to financial data is commercialized, how “open” is open banking – and who ultimately bears the cost?
Sara Khairi | February 19, 2026
More Articles