Bank of America to equip virtual assistant Erica with Balance Watch functionality
Through the Balance Watch insight Erica will notify clients when typical spending has the potential to take their balance below $0 in the next seven days.
Bank of America continues to enhance the capabilities of its virtual assistant Erica. Throughout the remainder of 2019 and beyond, Bank of America plans to add functionalities to Erica in order to provide clients further insights and guidance on optimizing cash flow, managing debt, monitoring transactions, capitalizing on savings opportunities and balancing competing priorities to reach critical financial goals.
The bank aims to add a Balance Watch insight to Erica next month. Through Balance Watch, Erica will notify clients when typical spending has the potential to take their balance below $0 in the next seven days.
This functionality will add to insights introduced in March. The list includes:
- Recurring charge increase flag: Notifies clients when a recurring charge or membership fee increases unexpectedly, enabling them to take action if needed. For instance, clients can cancel a subscription, reduce an expense, or dispute an incorrect charge they may have otherwise missed. Erica even takes seasonal variations into account for charges such as utility bills.
- Preferred Rewards: Informs clients when they are eligible for Preferred Rewards, highlights the benefits of the three-tiered membership program, and guides them through the simple enrollment process.
- Enhanced bill reminders: Alerts clients of all upcoming Bank of America bills and third-party eBills, including credit cards, home and auto loans, utilities, and retail within five days of their due date, and helps them easily schedule payments. The insight also provides an integrated view of all scheduled and recently paid bills with associated payment information.
Bank of America estimates that Erica is already helping over 7 million clients stay on top of their finances through the company’s mobile app. Since its nationwide rollout in June 2018, Erica has completed over 50 million client request thanks to artificial intelligence (AI), predictive analytics and natural language processing.
Erica assists clients across generations, including 15% from Gen Z, 49% millennials, 20% Gen X and 16% baby boomers/seniors.
