Absa gets real with virtual investor launch
South African heavyweight Absa Bank has unveiled its own artificial intelligence (AI)-powered online investment platform, Virtual Investor.
The self-service platform uses AI and computer algorithms to recommend a product for customers based on their financial attitudes to risk.
Armien Tyer, head of Absa Investments, says: “Individuals can either invest a once-off lump sum amount or through a debit order from as little as ZAR 200 ($15) a month. Everything, including the whole application process, is done online.”
According to the bank, Virtual Investor structures each customer’s portfolio against associated known product sets based on their investment risk appetite, using technology rather than active human interaction.
The first phase of Virtual Investor will offer customers access to a pre-selected range of Absa’s unit trusts, with more investment products, like retirement annuities, expected to follow at some unspecified point in time.
If customers yearn for the human touch, they can also talk to financial advisers for more guidance and assistance with the “more complex decisions” around investing.
Absa-cadabra
Elsewhere, the bank has been reasonably busy.
Last month, it said hello to multilingual text analytics and big data firm, Hello Soda, as it looks to tap into the millennial market.
While last year, it launched a MasterCard-powered digital wallet and ChatBanking for Facebook Messenger; and became the first bank in Africa to join New York-based R3’s consortium.
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