A NEW service from the Police and Nurses Credit Society will allow customers to talk to loan staff when completing a loan application online or using Internet banking.
Called Live Help, the system is similar to an instant messaging service that allows customers to chat to staff in real time by clicking an icon when using PNCS’s online services
PNCS general manager of operations Paul Ivankovich said the society was the first financial institution in Australia to implement this type of service.
He said the company had committed increased resources to online service functions in the past two years and that Live Help was an adjunct to those services, making it a low cost service implement.
“From our point of view it’s an efficient, accurate and time effective solution,” Mr Ivankovich said.
“Customers want immediate assistance when filling in an application online. They don’t want to stop and make a phone call or to send an email where the delay in response could be about an hour.
“If we want people to use this type of service, we want it to be worthwhile.
“We already have dedicated a team of people that supports members’ inquiries on the web.”
He said the company was confident the new service would strike a chord with customers.
“We are not going to be the first people in the world to do this, we will certainly be at the leading edge, but it has been successful in the US,” Mr Ivankovich said.
While situations in the US were not always directly comparable with Australia, similar services used elsewhere had proven successful, he told WA Business News.
“We know that the take-up of technology in Australia has traditionally been strong and we are confident that the take-up of this service will be strong.”
Mr Ivankovich said the new service would be monitored for its efficiency.
