FNB’s new system tells its advisors exactly what customers need
FNB launched an AI assistant that speeds up customer support, enabling the bank’s financial advisors to generate customer-specific financial information during interactions.
An extension of FNB’s NAVi system, the AI can help advisors set up payment arrangements, quickly access customer documents and provide support for more complex interactions.
Johan Maree, CEO of FNB Nav, told MyBroadband that NAVi operates as an assistant to the bank’s advisors, providing support during client conversations.
“By surfacing pertinent information quickly and efficiently, NAVi reduces the need for advisors to navigate multiple systems during live engagements, allowing them to focus on the quality of the interaction,” he said.
“NAVi draws on a rich, consolidated view of the customer by analysing more than 30 approved data sources.”
The AI can provide information such as customer transaction history, income and balance insights, interaction history across channels, account performance, current risk scores, and eBucks usage.
Advisors use these insights to support personalised conversations with clients. The decision-making process remained with the advisor.
Routine tasks were also simplified. Previously, advisors would search for customer documents or financial information. Now, the AI does this for them.
According to Maree, NAVi could help advisors resolve a range of customer needs more quickly thanks to its real-time, context-specific information delivery.
The AI could help them with services such as account-related queries, including logging fraud cases, cancelling or ordering new cards, and disputing debit orders.
It could assist customers when they require guidance across multiple banking topics, including navigating financial pressure, optimising eBucks benefits, or conducting financial needs analysis.
Maree said NAVi was designed to augment human expertise rather than replace it. With routine tasks reduced, advisors could focus on their interactions.
“By reducing the need to navigate multiple systems, advisors can focus more on understanding customer needs, applying judgment, and building stronger relationships with customers.”
AI rolled out across South Africa’s biggest banks
Eric Enslin, CEO of FNB Private Banking and Advisory, said the decision to upgrade NAVi and extend it to employee-facing processes stemmed from higher expectations being placed on advisors.
“To meet those expectations consistently, advisors need systems that actively support them in real time, not slow them down,” he said.
At the same time, FNB said that responsible AI adoption remained core to its approach with the technology. NAVi has built-in guardrails that support “compliant, safe and transparent use of AI.”
FNB said that further enhancements were planned as the bank continued to upgrade and evolve its AI-enabled service model.
“Ultimately, NAVi reflects the kind of bank we are building; one where technology works quietly in the background to make human interactions more meaningful,” said Maree.
AI technology has become a major feature among the country’s biggest banks. In March, Capitec, South Africa’s biggest bank by customer base, launched a similar AI system to FNB’s NAVi.
Capitec’s Pulse AI agent can provide real-time, customer-specific situational context to the bank’s call centre agents before a call is connected.
Capitec said that Pulse AI collected information from the bank’s app, products, payment systems and risk controls, as well as from the service that captures technical information when customers face errors.
“Its power lies in the contextual information it gives about a client’s situation in real time as they make contact,” Capitec said.
“For the first time, clients are assisted by contact centre agents who already know what issues to address at every interaction.”
It is one of many AI-powered solutions employed by Capitec. It was developed from the ground up by an internal Capitec software team and built on a database architecture relying on Amazon Connect and AWS.
The bank also employed AI-driven security features, including fraud detection and AI-powered warnings. Capitec estimated its staff’s use of AI products saved it around R95 million by improving efficiency.
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