What do bank customers contact customer service about?
Bank customers contact support about cards, money movement, access, fees and deposits. Agent can finish most of these once the customer is verified; on disputes and fraud it only takes intake, and a person decides.
| Conversation type | Can Agent resolve it? | Hand off when | Data Agent needs |
|---|---|---|---|
| Lost or stolen card | Yes: freezes it, reviews recent transactions, reissues to the address on file | An unrecognized transaction, a shared PIN, or a new delivery address | Card status, recent transactions, address and its last change date |
| Card declined | Yes, for limits, expired or frozen cards and blocks the customer set | A fraud rule declined it and the customer says the purchase wasn't theirs | Decline reason, card controls, limits |
| Unrecognized charge or transaction error | Partly: collects details, logs when it was first raised, opens the case | Always, for the decision; immediately if fraud is suspected | Transaction details, statement dates, dispute case system |
| Transfer or payment status | Yes: status, expected settlement and cutoffs for ACH, wire and person-to-person payments | A recall, a payment to the wrong person, or "the bank told me to move my money" | Payment status and reference, cutoff calendar |
| Online banking access | Partly: explains the lockout and points to your self-service reset | A request to change the verification phone or email, or two failed checks | Lock and device enrollment status, never credentials |
| Fees and fee refunds | Yes: explains the fee and refunds it inside your waiver rules | A repeat request, hardship or complaint language | Fee and waiver history, fee schedule |
| Deposit holds | Yes: hold reason and the date funds become available | The customer contests the hold, or a deposited check was returned | Hold records, funds availability policy |
| Branch, ATM and hours | Yes, with no verification needed | An ATM kept the card or didn't dispense cash (an error claim) | Branch and ATM directory, holiday calendar |
| Rates and product questions | Partly: published rates and product terms only | "Should I…?" questions or an application | Rate sheet, product terms |
| Business banking | Partly: cutoffs, payment status and how-to for treasury users | Positive pay decisions, entitlement changes, wire recalls | Business profile, authorized users, payment status |
"Partly" means Agent gathers details, logs the time and opens the case, then hands over with everything it looked up attached. Because Agent reads intent and sentiment from the first message in 31 languages, "the ATM ate my money" lands in the right row.
How does an AI agent handle a lost or stolen card?
Agent confirms the customer is signed in, freezes the card first, reviews recent transactions with them, then reissues or hands off to fraud. Speed has a regulatory edge: under Regulation E (12 CFR 1005.6), a consumer's liability for unauthorized transfers depends on how quickly a lost or stolen card is reported.
Example procedure: lost or stolen debit card
- Continue only inside a signed-in app or online banking session. On public web chat, ask the customer to sign in or call the number on our website.
- List cards by last four digits and ask which one is missing.
- Freeze it at once and say the freeze can be reversed in the app.
- Show the last 7 days of card transactions and ask if each one is theirs.
- If any isn't, or someone may know the PIN, stop and hand off to the fraud queue as urgent, noting when the customer first reported it.
- Otherwise ask: lost or stolen? Stolen: cancel and reissue. Lost: keep it frozen for 48 hours, or cancel and reissue now.
- Reissue only to the address on file, and only if it hasn't changed in 30 days. Any other address goes to card services.
- Explain delivery time and what happens to recurring payments, using the card replacement article in Knowledge.
Guardrails: one Agent-ordered replacement per card per 30 days; waive expedited delivery at most once a year, up to $25; no contact detail changes, PIN resets or credits.
Escalate at once on: any unrecognized transaction; "scam", "someone called from the bank", remote access, gift cards or "safe account"; distress; a business card with several cardholders.
Example conversation (illustrative, not a real customer)
Customer (mobile app, 11:40 p.m.): I think I left my debit card at a restaurant tonight.
Agent: I can freeze it now so nobody can use it. Is it the card ending 4417?
Customer: Yes.
Agent: Done, 4417 is frozen, and you can unfreeze it in the app. Here are its five latest transactions. Are they all yours?
Customer: Yes, the last one is dinner. Please cancel it and send a new one.
Agent: Done. Your new card is going to your address on Maple Avenue and should arrive in 5 to 7 business days. Subscriptions on the old card will need the new number. If you spot a charge you don't recognize, message us here straight away.
What must a banking AI agent never do?
A banking AI agent must never give financial advice, show account data before verification, or keep going once fraud appears. Those rules sit above every procedure, and they matter more as use grows: the CFPB estimated that about 37% of the US population interacted with a bank's chatbot in 2022.
- No advice. Agent states published rates and terms. "Should I" questions, investments, taxes and debt strategy go to a banker; Agent does not give financial, legal or tax advice.
- Verify first. Agent relies on your authentication, such as a signed-in session or your step-up check, and never asks for a full card number, PIN, password or one-time passcode. The FFIEC's authentication guidance favors multifactor or equivalent controls, so let your identity stack do the verifying.
- Fraud ends automation. After a customer mentions an unrecognized transaction or a scam, the only action left to Agent is a card freeze the customer asks for. Consumers reported losing more than $12.5 billion to fraud in 2024, more of it by bank transfer and cryptocurrency than all other payment methods combined.
- Catch disputes in plain words. The CFPB found chatbots can miss a dispute when customers don't use specific terms. Under Regulation E's error rules an oral notice counts, so Agent logs the time and opens the case. Credit card billing errors under Regulation Z need written notice, so Agent explains how to send one.
- No money decisions. No transfers, provisional credits or limit increases. Fee refunds stay inside spend limits.
- Contact changes stay separate. A new address, phone or email alongside a card reissue is a classic account takeover pattern and always goes to a person.
- A person is always reachable. Complaint or legal language, bereavement, hardship and signs of elder abuse trigger escalation, so nobody loops through scripted replies.
- Data handling. Connectors carry explicit, revocable permissions, so Agent sees only the fields you expose. Aftersales offers a GDPR DPA and hosts data in the US, with SSO, SAML and SCIM on Scale (security). Duties under the Gramm-Leach-Bliley Act stay with your bank; no software makes you compliant.
Which channels should a bank put AI on first?
Start where customers are already signed in: in-app and online banking chat. Mobile is where a large share of banking now happens, with 48.3% of banked US households using mobile banking as their main way to access accounts in 2023, per the FDIC.
- In-app chat. Authenticated, so Agent can freeze cards and read holds and transfers.
- Website chat. Anonymous. Agent answers branch, ATM, routing number and rate questions and asks customers to sign in for anything else.
- Phone. Fraud reports and urgent card losses still arrive by phone. Calls land in the same Inbox, with transfers and recording consent on Growth and Scale.
- SMS. Confirmations and alerts only, never sign-in links: fake bank fraud alerts were the most reported text scam in FTC data for 2022.
- Email. Statements, letters and questions that can wait.
- WhatsApp and Slack Connect. WhatsApp where it is the default messaging app; Slack Connect for treasury clients who already work in Slack.
What systems does a bank need to connect to an AI agent?
Banks run on core banking, card management, digital banking and identity, payments, and case management systems. Each connects to Agent through the Aftersales API or webhooks; confirm specific connectors on a call.
| System | What Agent reads | What Agent may do |
|---|---|---|
| Core banking system | Balances, transactions, holds, fee history | Refund a fee within your limit |
| Card management or processor | Card status, decline reasons, controls | Freeze, unfreeze, reissue to the address on file |
| Digital banking and identity | Session and verification status | None; your platform verifies |
| Payments (ACH, wire, person-to-person) | Status, references, cutoffs | None |
| Dispute and fraud case management | Case status | Open an intake case |
| CRM such as Salesforce | Segment, relationship owner | Log the conversation |
Salesforce, Slack, Jira and webhooks connect directly. Every action is a separate, revocable permission, and read-only is a sensible start.
How much does AI customer service cost for a bank?
A 12-person bank digital service team on Scale, with 10,000 conversations a month and Agent resolving 45%, would pay about $6,100 a month in list-price software, before staffing.
Assumptions: annual billing (monthly is 20% more); Scale for SSO, SAML and SCIM, which this example assumes your security team requires; 45% resolution, below Aftersales' 71% median after 90 days, because verification and fraud handoffs keep some conversations away from Agent.
| Line | Calculation | Monthly |
|---|---|---|
| Scale seats | 12 × $109 | $1,308 |
| Agent resolutions | 10,000 × 45% = 4,500 × $0.99 | $4,455 |
| Copilot add-on | 12 × $29 | $348 |
| Lite seats for fraud and compliance reviewers | Up to 50 free on Scale | $0 |
| Total | $6,111 |
A resolution is counted once per conversation, and conversations Agent can't help with are free. To keep your helpdesk, Agent on its own runs inside Zendesk, Salesforce Service Cloud or Freshdesk at $0.99 per resolution with a minimum monthly commitment. See pricing.
How do you roll out an AI agent at a bank in 30 days?
Answer read-only questions first, get compliance sign-off on every procedure, then switch on actions one at a time.
- Days 1 to 7: scope. Pick four intents: branch and ATM, transfer status, deposit holds, lost cards. Load the fee schedule, deposit agreement and funds availability policy into Knowledge. Fraud, disputes and compliance leads review each procedure and the escalation keywords.
- Days 8 to 14: connect and test. Connect core, card and identity systems read-only. Staff run scripted conversations, including scam scripts and disputes in everyday words ("I never got the cash from the ATM").
- Days 15 to 21: launch in the app. Signed-in chat, read-only intents. Monitors score every conversation; a fraud lead reviews handoffs daily.
- Days 22 to 30: add actions. Enable card freeze and reissue, then fee refunds within limits, then website chat. Report resolution rate, handoff reasons and CSAT for AI and humans.
The helpdesk setup for banks covers the queues that receive Agent's handoffs.