The intuitive, easy-to-use chat function is now available 24/7 for personal banking customers who manage their current accounts via the app, following the success it’s had with helping credit card customers over the last year. The milestone supports Virgin Money’s ambition to be the UK’s best digital bank, providing straightforward access to help for customers in a way that suits them, augmenting the knowledge and support of customer service teams.

Allegra Patrizi, managing director – business and commercial, at Virgin Money said: “We know how important it is for customers to experience digital journeys that feel human, not sterile and functional. That’s why we’re excited to be making Redi available to even more of our customers and see this as a truly positive step in our work to become the UK’s best digital and most loved bank.”

Introducing Redi

Redi is Virgin Money’s in-app, virtual assistant, navigable via the ‘chat with us’ button, and is trained to help customers manage their account quickly and easily by providing the right personalised support, connected to Virgin Money’s core systems. Behind the chat function, Redi is powered by Virgin Money’s suite of Microsoft Copilot products and was developed in collaboration with IBM Consulting.

Since the roll-out of Redi, it has been trained in over 70 common credit card customer queries, from requesting a PIN to viewing statements, and it can even carry out an action on a customer’s behalf. With permission from the customer, Redi can support a range of requests – such as ordering a replacement card, setting up a direct debit and changing a credit limit – and provides advice and information to customers on how to do things digitally, to save customers time and effort. 51% of conversations with credit card customers now start with Redi, and more than half of those conversations are solved by Redi without needing to go on to a live chat with a colleague.

Built to embody Virgin Money’s unique tone of voice, Redi can respond in a fun and engaging way (when appropriate), offer jargon-free help, can understand colloquialisms, replies empathetically when required and can even tell jokes.

Redi’s already proving popular with customers and peers across the industry, with unique features and functionality that differentiate it clearly from the average ‘chatbot’. The technology has earned one the highest customer satisfaction scores across the bank and was awarded the “Best application of AI in Financial Services” at the annual Card & Payments Awards.

Supporting customer queries efficiently

Colleagues in Virgin Money’s customer service team view Redi as a digital companion, augmenting their knowledge and support rather than replacing it, with the ability to ‘hand over’ to a human to assist if Redi can’t solve the query or an additional level of expertise is needed. Running Redi alongside the customer care team means that simple actions, questions and requests are dealt with really quickly, while freeing people up to deal with customers who need additional support.

Redi also has a proactive setting that means it can alert a customer if there is an action that needs their input or approval in real time. For example, if a customer’s card is nearing its expiry date, Redi will alert them, let them know how long they can use their existing card for and confirm their address is correct before a new card is sent out. This approach allows Redi to carry out servicing while reducing fraud.

When it comes to customers who may not feel confident managing their money digitally, Redi is there to support with this too. It is designed to reassure users and educate them on how to complete an action correctly and safely. Through this combination of conversational banking, interactive AI technology and heartfelt human support available as and when needed, Redi is helping to make it easier, better and more accessible for many customers to manage their money in the way that works best for them.