Part2 – Going the Extra Miles

Soul Machines’ Digital People create a more human experience—combining automation with personalization that scales and intelligence that informs. They bridge the empathy gap with customers and employees in our digital world.

In the finance industry, Digital People help address the challenge of offering more self-services without compromising on personalization as covered in Part 1 of this blog. They also bridge another important gap:  The digital divide that prevents people who are not digital-savvy from accessing necessary and convenient financial services.

Digital People break the communication barrier by providing always-on voice-controlled and engaging access to digital platforms, but they can also break the barrier of intimidation due to a lack of financial literacy and a fear of judgment.

Educate – Vital to driving financial wellness

A recent Forbes article reports that in 2021 only 44% of Americans could cover an unplanned $1,000 expense such as a car repair or emergency room bill from savings. Nearly 35% would need to borrow the money in some way – via a credit card, personal loan, or from family and friends – if they incurred an unplanned $1,000 expense. (Forbes 01/22)

Financial literacy can be a start to fostering a financially healthy life and self-service is a valuable channel to deliver the education necessary to ensure financial wellness. To this effect, Soul Machines’ Digital People can be excellent educators and incite customers to learn by demonstrating different levels of empathy: (1) cognitive or knowing what the user wants, (2) emotional or knowing how the user feels, and (3) compassionate or knowing what the user needs (read our blog about the three levels of empathy). Digital People can detect if the person in front of them is attentive or distracted, relaxed, confused, or anxious. Their conversation can adapt to put the user at ease and best answer his questions and offer to repeat if necessary. Through their autonomous animation, Digital People can facilitate comprehension by bringing visual cues on screen and pointing at them like a diagram comparing loan payment plans for different interest rates and terms, or a video on how to avoid credit card interests.

Include – Expand your customer base

In 2015, the World Bank raised awareness of the 2.5 billion adults transacting exclusively in cash due to a lack of effective access to formal financial services (Digital Financial Inclusion – The World Bank). Today, the digital divide does more than divide people who have access to the internet from those who do not. It divides people who are digital-savvy or not. Communities that are not digital savvy can be prevented from access to financial well-being due to lack of training, lack of confidence, or simply lack of motivation. These communities include the fast-growing elderly population, people with disabilities, and the microlending market, without forgetting the estimated 281 million migrants worldwide needing to receive or send money home.

Financial institutions committing to digital inclusion can generate incremental revenue by better addressing these underserved communities.  Digital People offer assistive and engaging technology to provide these communities with fair and equitable access to financial services. They can help overcome barriers such as poor accessibility, lack of digital and financial literacy, language, and fear of judgment.

Committing to digital inclusion can earn brand loyalty from customers who were previously “excluded”, but also from new generations who express a growing interest in how their savings impact the world. Millennials “are particularly interested in digital inclusion efforts and are driving demand for issuers and borrowers to pursue digital inclusion financing.” (Guidebook to Digital Inclusion Bond Financing, World Economic Forum)