Mashreq Bank selects Kore.ai to Elevate Customer Experience through Conversational AI

(BUSINESS WIRE)-- Kore.ai, a top conversational AI software company, today announced its partnership with Mashreq Bank, one of the leading financial institutions in the UAE, to enhance digital engagement and support for customers through conversational AI. Known for being first to market with customer service technology innovations, Mashreq will use Kore’s BankAssist virtual assistant product to provide personalized self-service and enable faster resolution of customer queries in both Arabic and English.

The partnership will enable Mashreq’s over half a million retail banking customers to use their voice or text in the communication channel of their choice to perform over 100 retail banking transactions. This will enable the bank’s customer service team to spend more time with customers on advanced interactions, making Mashreq’s service even more personalized.

“Mashreq was founded on the importance of building strong, long-term relationships, and we see the addition of conversational AI as the next technological leap forward in relationship banking. Our customers have come to expect world-class customer service from us, and with Kore as our conversational AI provider, we hope to not only meet, but surpass their expectations,” said Thomas Cherian, Executive Vice-President and Head of Technology at Mashreq. “We selected Kore because of the sophistication of the software’s intent recognition, dialogue management, as well as ease of use – factors which will enable our customers to have access to even better support for all their banking requirements.”

Through natural language processing (NLP), a branch of AI, BankAssist interprets customer inquiries in voice or text, interfaces with the bank’s back-office systems to execute transactions, and seamlessly transitions to a live agent when necessary. When customers shift from one communication channel to another, return to the bank for subsequent service, or move to a live agent, the virtual assistant maintains the context of historical conversations to ensure a consistent experience. BankAssist is built on Kore’s no-code platform and is pre-integrated with common banking systems and third-party apps.

“It’s the entire customer experience journey that we’re targeting,” said Kore Founder and CEO Raj Koneru. “In collaboration with Mashreq, we are delivering a truly digital experience that makes banking enjoyable for customers. We want to address the challenges of limited self-service and lack of personalization that banking customers commonly face by bringing in conversational AI capabilities, which can automate routine business interaction and make technology smarter. It also helps banks build new efficiencies that can fuel their growth and expansion.”

Mashreq will also leverage SmartAssist, Kore’s contact center as a service (CCaaS) product, to automate inbound customer support on the cloud. Through a simple SIP transfer, SmartAssist deflects calls to digital and automates support conversations. SmartAssist also gives customers automated speech recognition (ASR) and text-to-speech (TTS), making it easier for IVR customers to enhance their support technology stack.

About Mashreq

One of the UAE’s best performing banks for five decades, Mashreq is a leading financial institution with an expanding footprint across the Middle East. We have international offices in Europe, Asia, Africa and the US, and a strong presence in the financial capitals of the world.

As the oldest bank in the UAE, our journey can be traced back to humble beginnings in 1967, followed by periods of rapid growth and strategic expansion. Throughout our history, Mashreq has differentiated itself by pioneering new-to-market concepts and launching unique products and services.

Our innovative approach sets us truly apart, it also continues to win us numerous awards and accolades across all fields including digital banking, the most recent were: Market Leader by Euromoney Cash Management Survey in UAE for Corporates and in the Middle East and Africa for the Financial Institutions, Market Leader by Trade Finance Survey in the UAE and Middle East, Middle East Best Digital Bank by Euromoney Regional Awards for Excellence, the Most Innovative Consumer/Corporate Digital Bank in the UAE and Best Bank in the UAE by World's Best Bank Awards by Global Finance, Most Innovative Bank in the Middle East by EMEA Finance and many others.

About Kore.ai

Kore increases the speed of business by automating customer and employee interactions through digital virtual assistants built on its market-leading conversational AI platform. Companies who prioritize customer and employee experience use Kore’s no-code conversational AI platform to raise NPS and lower operational costs. The top 4 banks, top 3 healthcare businesses, and over 100 Fortune 500 companies have automated a billion interactions since Kore was founded in 2015, and its pre-built industry and functional virtual assistants have made it easier and faster for these top-performing businesses to scale the impact of front office automation. Kore has been recognized as a leader by top analysts and ensures the success of its customers through a growing team headquartered in Orlando with offices in India, the UK, Japan, and Europe. Visit Kore.ai to learn more.

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