Be wary when dealing with your bank’s chatbot

Financial institutions are increasingly using chatbots, which put out human-like responses using computer programming, to communicate with customers to save money.

Chatbots sometimes have human names and use popup features to encourage interaction. Some chatbots use more complex technologies such as “artificial intelligence” to respond to customers.

The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau has received hundreds of complaints from frustrated customers trying to receive timely, straightforward answers from their financial institutions or to raise a concern or dispute.

“To reduce costs, many financial institutions are integrating artificial intelligence technologies to steer people toward chatbots,” said CFPB Director Rohit Chopra. “A poorly deployed chatbot can lead to customer frustration, reduced trust, and even violations of the law.”

About 37 percent of the U.S. population interacted with a bank’s chatbot in 2022, a number that will grow.

Among the top 10 commercial banks in the country, all use chatbots to communicate with customers.

Financial institutions say their chatbots offer a variety of features to consumers such as retrieving account balances, looking up recent transactions, and paying bills. Much of the industry uses simple chatbots with keywords or emojis that trigger preset, limited responses or route customers to a Frequently Asked Questions section or page.

Other institutions have built chatbots by training algorithms with real customer conversations and chat logs, such as Capital One’s Eno and Bank of America’s Erica. Also, the banking industry has begun adopting advanced technologies, such as chatbots that can generate an answer.

In a study, the CFPB found chatbots pose risks including:

• Noncompliance with federal consumer financial protection laws. The information chatbots provide may not be accurate. The technology may fail to recognize that consumers are invoking their federal rights, or it may fail to protect their privacy and data.
• Diminished customer service and trust. Consumers’ problems could be dire and urgent. They may face repetitive loops of unhelpful jargon and struggle to get the response they need, including not being able to talk to a human.
• Harm to consumers. Consumer may select the wrong product or service. They could be assessed fees or other penalties if they receive inaccurate information on making payments.

People who are having issues getting answers to their questions due to a lack of human interaction can submit a consumer complaint by going to the CFPB’s website or by calling 855-411-2372.