Brokers have raised concerns over loss of human touch when dealing with banks
The white-collar Financial Sector Union (FSU)’s calls for the benefits of artificial intelligence to be passed onto workers has not managed to save dozens call centre jobs at Commonwealth Bank, which has informed the union of 45 redundancies in place of chatbots, according to an AFR report.
It is reportedly the first instance of CBA openly cutting jobs because of AI, leaving a question mark hanging over the 3,000-odd call centre workers at Australia’s largest bank.
CBA’s ‘voice bot’, which handles customer identification, verification, and balance checks, has reportedly slashed call volumes by 2,000 a week.
“This has enabled us to continue our focus on upskilling our team to manage the more complex customer queries,” a CBA spokesperson told the FSU.
“To meet the changing needs of our customers, like many organisations, we review the skills we need and how we’re organised to deliver the best customer experiences and outcomes. That means some roles and work can change,” the spokesperson added.
It is a blow to Australia’s white- and blue-collar unions, which have called for AI to be a big focus in next month’s Productivity Roundtable.
Back in June, FSU national secretary Julia Angrisano called the roundtable “an opportunity to agree on a plan for a finance sector with quality, local jobs, the responsible use of artificial intelligence, and accessible financial services”.
“AI is a fundamental and growing part of the finance sector, but this growth is happening in an almost entirely unregulated and uncontrolled way,” she said. “The economic benefits and productivity gains of AI must flow on to workers, and not just improve the profits of banks and major companies.”
The adoption of AI technologies in the banking sector is also a major cause of concern for Australia’s mortgage brokers.
Broker fear loss of human touch
In a May non-major bank roundtable hosted by MPA, Jessica Pringle of Sydney-based Pringle Finance Group quizzed participants, including CBA-owned Bankwest general manager Ian Rakhit, on the matter.
“Can brokers still expect on-ground BDM (business development manager) support despite ever-growing upgrades in technology? There is nothing better than face-to-face contact with a knowledgeable BDM, and I don't want that to disappear,” said Pringle.
While Rakhit stressed the importance of “human-to-human support when needed”, he added that having 50 BDMs for 20,000 accredited brokers is a tall order, “so we make sure that we’ve got all the support underneath that”.
CBA fears productivity losses
CBA under chief executive Matt Comyn wants tax reform to be high on the agenda at next month’s roundtable.
The bank believes Australia needs to “find a way to lower its dependence” on income taxes, it said earlier this month.
Rather surprisingly, CBA is advocating to keep wealth and consumption taxes where are to they help arrest a multi-decade decline in productivity.
“Enduring productivity reform will be hard won, but it is possible,” said CBA. “We have done it before as a nation, and we can do it again.
“It will take government, business and communities working together in the national interest to lift quality of life and deliver prosperity for all Australians. This is a generational opportunity for us all, if we are willing to seize it.”
