Bank of Ireland (BoI) has announced plans to invest over €34m in its telephony and Customer Relationship Management (CRM) systems.
The planned investment aims to result in faster resolution of customer calls, expanded self-service functionalities – such as address changes, duplicate statement requests and card replacements – increased availability of 24/7 transactions via phone and heightened customer security measures.
Susan Russell, CEO of BoI Retail Ireland, commented: “This is the largest single investment in enhanced systems and technology for our frontline colleagues in branches and contact centres that the Bank has ever made.
“We receive more than 11,000 calls on average each day and when customers call us they want speed, expertise and security.”
To meet these aims, the bank has outlined three specific areas where the additional funds will be used.
Firstly, the BoI expects to provide 2,800 colleagues in branches and contact centres with access to comprehensive ‘single view of customer’ data, resulting in quicker resolutions to customer inquiries.
Furthermore, the investment will be used to introduce voice biometrics, enhancing customer authentication for heightened fraud protection and reducing call waiting times.
Lastly, funds will be directed towards enabling more streamlined phone-based transactions, available 24/7, with improved customer verification methods, and simplified menu structures to enhance customer experience.
This latest announcement brings BoI’s total spending on various customer service enhancements to nearly €150m by the end of 2025, following previous investments made earlier this year.
In January, BoI unveiled an investment exceeding €60m in a series of branch enhancements, marking the bank’s most substantial single investment in ATMs in the past decade as the country looks to keep cash services alive.
Additionally, the bank also announced spending of €50m on customer fraud prevention and protection in February, including investment in new technology.
Russell concluded: “This investment equips colleagues with the latest technology to provide better and faster resolution of calls, and colleagues will now have a ‘single view’ of the customer at the touch of a button providing them with instant access to all their information without having to talk to another part of the bank.
“This investment will make things faster and better for customers and for colleagues, it’s a win-win.”
