OCBC rolls out facial recognition to identify premier banking customers

It can record the purpose of the visit, gather feedback, and understand customer behavior patterns.

OCBC and NEC announced the successful testing and roll-out of a facial recognition system at OCBC's Holland Village branch to identify premier banking customers. OCBC Bank is one of the first in Singapore's banking sector to adopt such a system as part of its digital efforts to improve service excellence.

Implemented since 4 December 2017, the system instantly identifies OCBC Premier Banking customers in real-time as they approach the lounge in the branch without needing to stop to look at the camera.

Based on the VIP identification, the system allows the Premier Service Manager (PSM) to promptly identify and greet customers by their preferred name, offer them their preferred drinks and magazines, and, understanding their visit records, to promptly deliver services, giving the client a more personalised and pleasant customer journey.

The bank can record the purpose of a customer's visit, gather feedback to help improve services, and understand customer behavior patterns, such as the frequency of their visits.

The system utilizes NeoFace, NEC's AI engine for face recognition.

"OCBC is committed to our service quality and implementing facial recognition to elevate the customer experience is one of the first steps that we are doing in the digital economy. Since introducing it, we received positive feedback from customers who were impressed by the personalized hospitality enabled by fast and accurate identification. Going forward, we will evaluate and consider the extension of the capability beyond customer service," said Pranav Seth, SVP, head of e-business, business transformation and fintech & innovation group, OCBC Bank.