Citi unveils chat and video calling for wealthy clients

Beena ParmarMoneycontrol NewsIn a first, foreign bank Citi will now allow an in-app chat, audio and video call facility for its CitiGold wealth customers to interact with their relationship managers and experts.

Citi, which gets almost 40 percent of its business from wealth management services, launched the digital proposition for its CitiGold customers who have a minimum net relationship value (NRV) of Rs 5 million (Rs 50 lakh).

NRV is an aggregate of the average value of certain relationships you hold with Citi including fixed deposits, investments, insurance policies, etc.

The facility "Hello" connects clients with their relationship manager instantly through in-app chat and allows them to interact via audio and video calls that are archived for future reference.

Currently, Citi has over 500 Relationship Managers catering to a total customer base of 2.5 million.

Clients can also converse with product experts, service relationship managers and branch managers, perform real-time and secure transactions, and upload documents.

Anand Selvakesari, Asia Pacific Head, Global Consumer Banking, Citi, said, “There has been a significant increase in wealth creation over the last decade across Asia, including India. At the same time, consumer expectations are rapidly being shaped by digitization trends, leading to digital channels becoming an integral part of daily lives. This presents us with a significant opportunity to engage with our Citigold clients, leveraging the power of the digital world.”

Recently, the foreign bank launched voice biometrics authentication, e-chat on Citibank Online, wallet integration on digital platforms and Snapshot on Citi Mobile.

Kartik Kaushik, Country Business Manager, Global Consumer Bank, Citi India said, “Social media has redefined the way people engage personally and professionally, and clients expect their banks to provide a similar experience.”The application has been developed for the first time globally in partnership with a fintech player."Fintech companies and banks need to co-exist. Banks have the capital, distribution, scale and are regulated. As long as the fintech companies keep innovating we will partner with them," Anand said.He added that the role of bank branches is changing just like the retail sector."Though branches are important, over 90 percent transactions are done through alternate channels. There is a need to re-format branches. What are they for? Branches may be used for advisory services, they can have wealth management centres, can acquire customers and facilitate transactions which can't go online (which are very few)."