Dubai: Commercial Bank of Dubai (CBD) has initiated a brand new trend in the banking services in the UAE and the region by introducing banking transactions through Facebook.
CBD online banking customers who have a Facebook account can manage their daily banking needs by monitoring their accounts and making transactions. This initiative is the first in the region and one of only three in the world, the bank said.
“This fits the Innovation road map of the bank with the launch earlier this year of the region’s first virtual assistant and personal financial management tool delivered for CBD online banking customers,” said CBD Chief Executive, Peter Baltussen.
Virtual assistants are available to help customers in transactions done through the Facebook branch, said a CBD spokesperson.
The UAE, with its 3.6 million Facebook users, is among the countries which seem to enjoy Facebook the most. Customer insights indicate that people check their Facebook within 15 minutes from the time they wake up and they actually check it on an average of five times per day.
Customers can perform a number of tasks such as checking their current and savings accounts and credit card balances without leaving Facebook. They can also pay CBD credit cards, as well as transfer money between their CBD accounts and apply for CBD products. They can also track their expenses.
“CBD recognises that as more and more people utilise social media, customers increasingly expect banks to offer services via these platforms. Customers want convenience and be able to do banking as part of their everyday lives, when and where they want,” Baltussen added.
New Zealand’s ASB Bank has a similar Facebook Virtual Branch. The Virtual Branch then gives customers a menu of photos of real ASB staff — eight employees based at the bank’s Auckland Support Centre — each tagged as either unavailable or available. Clicking on an available “teller” initiates a chat dialogue.
