BMO Partners with Phoenix Interactive to Deliver Improved ABM Experience

BMO Bank of Montreal and Phoenix Interactive has recently announced an industry leading development that will change the way the bank and customers interact with the BMO’s network of 2100 Instabank ABMs.

What is Changing?

With the partnership Phoenix Interactive, BMO will be integrating Phoenix’s Commander software solution with its self service ABM channel, a step that will be allowing the bank’s customers to se up ABM “short cuts” to “preferred” transactions.

A few example of some short cuts would be “My Usual Withdrawal”, “My Usual Transfer”, My Usual Deposit”, etc.; when a BMO client logs into a BMO Instabank ABM, they will see these short cuts, thus providing a faster and more personalized customer experience.

With this new technology integrated with BMO’s ABMs, it will give BMO the ability to communicate personally relevant information and product offers to its individual customers.

It is definitely amazing what technology can do, and allowing the ability to have meaningful conversations with customers directly through an ABM is a big step up. Simple offers such as increasing your line of credit for example can be said straight through the ABM. If the customer accepts the offer, then it can be completed straight from the ABM, easy as that.

What will happen to BMO branches?

If one can personalize their transactions, not to mention receive offers at the new BMO Instabank ABM, what will become of BMO branches? Basically, what BMO has done to ensure that their branches are not eliminated yet, is make it so that the offers given to clients are not too complicated.

The offers made will generally be credit increases, and other simple offers. How I see it, more complicated transactions such as mortgages have to be done in person. Better offers can be made once you talk face to face with a representative from the bank. A better connection is made than on an ABM channel.

The other reason why I see banks not eliminating branches at the moment is because currently cheques have to be deposited at the branch. You can deposit your cheque at an ABM, however there is a limit as to how much gets deposited into your account immediately. There is one way to eliminate going to the bank to deposit the cheque, and that would be sending an image of the cheque to their bank. The only issue with that method is that it is currently unavailable in Canada, however the US has been taking full advantage of this for some time.

I am glad to see BMO making these kinds of changes to help increase the customer’s experience. I believe this change will be the beginning of many significant changes in the way BMO will be utilizing this highly valued customer touch-point to communicate with clients.