The influence of AI can no longer be ignored. It’s become a large enough wave that industries from travel, apparel & fashion to electronics and more are beginning to scramble for a way to incorporate it into their portfolio, which gives headway to some roadblocks: What is AI? How can it be implemented? Will it take over humans? 

These narratives are causing more noise than the technology itself and before they begin to overshadow the industry completely, it’s important to take a step back and truly understand the value of AI in specificity. There is no one size fits all solution and there shouldn’t be. 

Kathy Sianis, VP of Client Experience & Strategy, helps break down Posh’s unique solutions that address these issues, how we’re making it easy to implement and why we keep humans at the core of our services on behalf of financial institutions. 

The Problem

Somewhere along the way, AI became synonymous with losing the human touch - which as you can imagine, is not ideal for the financial industry, which prides itself on human interactions and personability.

Author Sarah Welch addresses the matter thoughtfully and deliberately in her latest article in CUTimes where she unpacks the hesitations of implementing conversational AI for financial institutions and the benefits that doing so will provide. In her words: 

“For credit unions, the resources provided by AI and machine learning make it possible to tailor how members’ particular needs are addressed, as well as experiment with the most effective ways of gaining and retaining members through interactions.” 

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On behalf of Posh, we couldn’t agree more with her. 

Credit unions and financial institutions are built on community and it’s remiss to enter this space without acknowledging and truly understanding the importance of the people and conversations. 

Posh doesn't believe there should be a trade-off between the human experiences and digital experiences. When merged together, they are in fact meant to enhance the experience as a whole and provide unique advantages that would otherwise be unachievable. 

At Posh, we're governed by two beliefs: 

• Empower financial institutions with the power of conversational AI to better serve their communities and therefore democratizing access to banking 
• Conversational AI is meant to make humans more human

However, not all conversational AI is the same. 

The Posh Solution

Our AI was not born out of a need to stay ahead of the curve or tap into a new, exciting frontier of tech. Posh AI exists for the industry and is creating a solution to a long-standing problem that no predecessor has yet to tackle. We operate with our clients and people at the center. 

It’s our mission at Posh to facilitate this change and make it a feasible reality for financial institutions. There is a huge opportunity to help banks and credit unions unlock their full potential while also prioritizing an integral part of any business - member service and VIP experience. Posh is here to cut through the noise and provide insight into how all of this should be and is, easily achievable through automation and conversational AI. 

Some of the people-driven solutions we offer: 

• Service when you want it: We offer 24/7 access to information and banking transactions through our AI 
• Ease of implementation: Posh handles the lift of integrating our suite of services into existing systems, making the process as seamless as can be
• Long wait times: Information is instantly available without a wait, there is no limit to the number of members that can be assisted at one time
• Stagnant conversations: Our patented NLP swaps out frustratingly, scripted conversations for warm, friendly dialogue
• Lack of personalization: Our bots are enabled with full personalization and ongoing configurability to best  reflect the POV and voice of your financial institution, making each conversation unique
• Lack of follow-through: Our Partner for Life promise ensures quality service not just for the sake of business but as a commitment to ensuring your financial institution is properly set up for success throughout the journey  

View Posh's suite of solutions here.

A Changing Industry

I have been in the financial service industry for 25 years. As a senior leader I have been constantly challenged to find innovative ways to address pain points without compromising member experience. Members have always told me that ‘ease of doing business’ is critical. I was lucky to meet Posh at the time that I did; it’s where I learned to leverage systems and tools that allow me to serve members the way that they had been asking for. 

It was apparent that I could extend my human team in an automated way that allowed for instant solutions and the opportunity to keep an organic share of voice and inherent understanding of my brand intact. The message was loud and clear - the human touchpoints weren’t going away, they were now thriving in an environment that was making each conversation that much easier to have. 

I became so invested in the benefits of what this technology was allowing me to do on behalf of my members and the industry overall, that I knew I had to join Posh. This immediately resonated with my desire to problem solve and innovate - both of which were leading qualities in Posh. I am now seeing first-hand how all Posh clients can humanize the banking experience, while delivering the service we all wanted with Posh conversational AI.

There is still an opportunity to shape the future of conversational AI within the banking industry - before the noise of all the rest completely submerges it. 

Posh holds steadfast to our values and will always remain a client first company and as a CUSO, our financial industry advisors and investors can attest to the work that we are doing on their behalf. 

Before things get too noisy, know that Posh will always be your advocate throughout this process. I leave you with the forward thinking outlook from Sarah Welch: 

“Looking to the future, the first credit unions to successfully migrate their services and institutional character to a customizable, digital-first experience, may well reinvigorate the health of the larger credit union ecosystem in the process.”‍

-Kathy SIanis, VP of Client Experience & Strategy

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