Infobip > Case Studies > Raiffeisenbank: Leveraging WhatsApp for Cost-Effective Customer Service

Raiffeisenbank: Leveraging WhatsApp for Cost-Effective Customer Service

Technology Category

Platform as a Service (PaaS) - Application Development Platforms

Applicable Industries

Finance & Insurance
Telecommunications

Applicable Functions

Sales & Marketing

Use Cases

Real-Time Location System (RTLS)
Time Sensitive Networking

Services

System Integration

About The Customer

Raiffeisenbank (RBA), founded in 1996, is a trusted banking institution that specializes in developing financial solutions for private and corporate customers. As part of the Raiffeisenbank International group, it boasts over 120 years of global experience in the banking sector. RBA is committed to enhancing its customer service experience and has been proactive in integrating modern communication channels into its customer contact center. The bank recognizes the need for diverse direct engagement channels to cater to its customers' preferences and to reduce call queues.

The Challenge

Raiffeisenbank (RBA) was grappling with high call center costs and slow resolution times. The bank was incurring significant costs due to the use of toll-free numbers for customer service. These numbers, while free for customers, were expensive for RBA. Additionally, the bank's contact center agents were overwhelmed with heavy workloads due to the lengthy time spent on each call, leading to long waiting times for customers. RBA also identified a growing preference among their clients for alternative direct engagement channels to avoid call queues. While they had integrated Viber and Telegram into their contact center to enhance customer experience, they sought to incorporate WhatsApp, one of the most popular chat apps, into their platform. However, they needed a reliable WhatsApp Business API solution provider for this purpose.

The Solution

RBA partnered with Infobip, a company with the expertise to integrate the WhatsApp Business Platform into their existing contact center communications suite. The integration of WhatsApp provided RBA with an instant, secure, and reliable channel that was actively used by their customers. This allowed the bank to send transactional messages and time-sensitive notifications quickly and conveniently. It also enabled customers to communicate directly with RBA. The cost of using WhatsApp as a channel was significantly lower than that of outbound toll-free numbers, and the integration process was fast and straightforward. Looking ahead, RBA plans to work with Infobip to introduce a WhatsApp chatbot to handle FAQs and qualify customers who need additional support from a contact center agent.

Operational Impact

The integration of WhatsApp into RBA's contact center had a positive impact within just a month. The bank received positive feedback from both customers and call center agents. Customers began to choose WhatsApp over the toll-free number, leading to lower contact center costs. The cost-effectiveness of WhatsApp as a communication channel was 10 times greater than that of toll-free numbers. The successful first month led to the full integration of WhatsApp into RBA's contact center, resulting in a significant improvement in customer experience, as evidenced by a 19% boost in their NPS across all chat apps. The bank also noted that WhatsApp was four to five times more popular than other instant communication channels among its customers. The real-time interaction capability of WhatsApp has also helped RBA improve relations with potential clients and assist in the onboarding process.

Quantitative Benefit

19% growth in Net Promoter Score (NPS) across all chat apps
10x reduction in contact center costs
WhatsApp is 4-5 times more popular than other instant communication channels among RBA customers