Kathy Gibson reports from AWS Summit in Sandton – Capitec is adding features to its AWS-based app that will allow customers to place calls from within the app.
Customers can already access the app without having to use data – and now the calls to Capitec will also be free to make.
Blessing Mgaga, divisional executive: retail client experience delivery, explains: “We want the client to be able to contact us from their channel of choice. And, now, when they are in the app they can simply press a button, contact us, and talk to us. When they are done, they simply close the app.
“This ability to call from the app is free with no data required. Customers can talk to us at any time.”
When it first launched its app, Capitec made the decision to make it free to use – and clients don’t need to have data.
“We are leveraging on that,” Mgaga says. “There is no additional cost factor: that is how we run the app and the digital channel.”
In-app calling is the latest in a series of customer services that Capitec is offering.
Chris Erasmus, country GM: South Africa at AWS, says there is a lot of innovation coming from companies in the financial services space – and Capitec is particularly advanced in this.
“We seldom see an institution willing to work as quickly as Capitec, which takes customer feedback on board and integrates it into the app.”
Mgaga says this is because IT strives to operate according to Capitec’s founding principles. “We have to keep in mind the principles that gave birth to Capitec – that is our lodestar for any decisions that we take.
“These principles are accessibility as it related to branches, services and people; affordability in that we need to respect that our customers will value what we offer; and dignity in that customers need to be seen, appreciated, and listened to. At the centre of everything is to make things simple.”
The philosophy seems to be working: Capitec currently has 12-million app users each month. “And it is a more personalised service that still puts the client at the centre,” Mgaga says.
This extends to the app, which even includes a feature to verify calls from Capitec customer service agents.
“Everyone gets lots of calls, and you never know if they are legitimate, or spam, or phishing,” Mgaga says.
“Capitec will notify customers, through the app, if they are going to get a call. Or they can check with the app during the call to see if it really is from Capitec.”
This feature wouldn’t be possible without the native call centre technology from AWS that is integrated into all Capitec’s channels, Mgaga notes.
Additional services available out of the box include Contact Lens which offers insights that might not be immediately visible to the bank.
And Capitec is just scratching the surface of what it can do with AWS services, Mgaga adds. Among future plans are using Amazon Bedrock for machine learning and other use cases. The company is also piloting the use of artificial intelligence (AI) solutions and expects to roll these out in the next couple of months.