Day 1 of the Digital Banking Conference hosted by the ABA is complete, and the biggest draw of the day was…Pepper the robot from SoftBank
Related story:
Rise of the robots: Bank deploys ‘Pepper’ to assist customers
“Beginning Thursday, Pepper will greet customers at HSBC Bank’s Brickell branch in Miami, and later, possibly other locations throughout Florida, according to bank officials. Pepper’s Miami launch will be the fourth for the bank, following launches at branches on Fifth Avenue in New York City last summer, and in Seattle and Beverly Hills this past spring.
Pepper’s job is to bring you information about basic services offered by the bank, so the bank’s human employees will have more time for “deeper, more high-value customer engagements,” a bank official said in a recent news release.
Pepper is friendly and social, says Jeremy Balkin, head of Innovation at HSBC Bank USA. It can show customers “how-to” videos on its tablet. It can teach customers how to use the bank’s ATM machine or download its smartphone app. It can send links to your device to help you apply for a credit card or open an account.”