Bank of Maldives Introduces AI-Powered Digital Banking Assistant – Aaya

On Wednesday, the Bank of Maldives (BML) introduced its new AI-powered digital banking assistant – Aaya. Aaya is an intelligent chatbot available 24/7 on BML’s website, Facebook Messenger, Viber, and WhatsApp. With the ability to respond in both Dhivehi and English, Aaya will be able to answer customers’ questions in real-time and transfer them to a customer service agent when required.

The newly introduced digital banking assistant is facilitated under BML’s continued investment to enhance customer experience. As the leading financial institution in the Maldives, BML strives to distinguish itself by providing digital, self-service functions that allow customers to navigate day-to-day banking online conveniently.

Under this commitment, BML now offers customers a wide-ranging array of digital offerings including instant bank account opening to online loans and financing, self-service management of debit and credit cards as well as international money transfer and TT services. Moreover, owing to continued improvement of service at the Bank’s Contact Centre, it now enables customers to engage in interactive call menus with options to receive information via SMS in English/Dhivehi, request for call back on queue and priority calling for urgent services.

Commenting on this new service enhancement, the CEO and Managing Director of BML, Karl Stumke said: “Customers want to engage with brands like ours using the channel of their choice. The platform powering ‘Aaya’ uses generative AI and the latest in Natural Language Processing (NLP) to allow for smart conversations across multiple channels. For our customers, this means faster response and resolution times, ultimately leading to increased customer satisfaction.”
 
Speaking further, he stated, “With digitalization as a priority for the Bank, we are committed to delivering fast, relevant, and easy digital experiences to customers. We are already seeing the results of our investment with service levels improving almost 40% in 2022 compared to the previous year and average waiting time for our services reducing by more than half. We have a long way to go, however, and we will continue to partner with innovative partners to introduce additional technology-backed solutions to make a real impact for our customers.”
 
BML currently has a customer base of over 325,000 customers with a nationwide network of 38 branches in 20 atolls, 87 Self-Service Banking Centres, 143 ATMs and more than 200 agents across the Maldives. In addition to this, the bank also offers a full suite of Digital Banking services, a testament to BML’s commitment to support individuals, businesses and communities all over the country.