CIMB Bank and its Islamic subsidiary have introduced the EVA chatbot for small and medium enterprise (SME) customers, a conversational style and real-time commercial banking chatbot in Malaysia. EVA was first launched for retail customers in 2016 and was updated in 2018 to include additional functionalities.

They said the platform was developed to better support SME customers’ banking needs in a fast and secure manner.

It is available 24 hours a day, seven days a week and can handle a large number of simultaneous queries from SMEs, with the help of Artificial Intelligence (AI) and Natural Language Processing (NLP).

CIMB said that customers can expect instant and consistent answers to their questions on all SME products as well as COVID-19 relief programmes.

The chatbot offers the Eligibility Check feature to suggest the most suitable products, efficiently substituting lengthy communications and correspondences with the bank’s representatives.

The bank added that customers also benefit from one contact point internally when they leave queries and their contact details, enabling a representative from CIMB to reach out to them directly.

EVA was developed in collaboration with Pand.ai, a Singapore-based AI financial technology company.

Leveraging on the bank’s ASEAN network, the EVA chatbot is an extension of CIMB Bank Singapore’s chatbot for SME customers which may be introduced to other regions in the future.

The EVA chatbot is available to serve all customers on CIMB’s business website.

Victor Lee Meng Teck, CEO, Group Commercial Banking, CIMB Group said,

“The introduction of the EVA chatbot for Commercial Banking customers comes at an opportune time given the critical need for customers to bank safely during the pandemic.

 

We hope this latest innovation will provide convenience to our SME customers as it acts as first-hand support in answering their queries without having to wait to speak to a Relationship Manager, thereby reducing turnaround time and providing a smoother experience for them.”