MUSCAT – Bank Muscat offers a large range of services through its Contact Centre, which is an important channel of communication for customers to get in touch with the bank whenever the need arises. As part of its customer-centric strategy, Bank Muscat operates the largest Contact Centre in the banking sector in the Sultanate, which is manned by a team of competent and highly-trained Omani phone bankers 24/7 throughout the year. The Contact Centre uses an intuitive Integrated Voice Response (IVR) system to respond to about 64 per cent of the incoming calls, with phone bankers handling more complex queries and providing detailed clarifications to customers.
Speaking on the occasion, Talal Abdul Hameed Al Zadjali, Deputy General Manager – Operations, Bank Muscat, said: “Bank Muscat’s Contact Centre is a vital link between our valued customers and the bank and provides various banking services around the clock, seven days a week, and with a minimal waiting period. It is one of the most important Contact Centres in the Sultanate’s banking sector, and I would like to express my sincere appreciation to all the Contact Centre employees for their dedication and efforts to ensure the continuation of the bank’s customer-centric vision. This is especially important at a time when Contact Centre services and other digital channels are playing a major role in helping ensure business continuity and provide a convenient and alternate banking channel for all.”
Talal Al Zadjali added that the bank would keep on enhancing the role of the centre by attracting qualified and talented Omani cadres, and by continually upgrading it with the latest equipment and advanced technologies in the future too. This will help Bank Muscat keep pace with all the latest telecommunications developments and further enhance the quality of services provided.
The language options available for customers include Arabic, English and Hindi. It is a matter of great pride that the Contact Centre provides services with minimal waiting time even though it handles as many as 5.45 million calls annually. More than 85 per cent of the calls are answered within 30 seconds and all calls are recorded for Quality and Training purposes. The Contact Centre, which has 160 team members, has achieved 99 per cent Omanisation with a 65:35 male to female ratio. It must also be noted that the Contact Centre (+968-24795555) is accessible from all across the world, providing a communication channel for customers who are travelling internally and have to contact the bank urgently.
The IVR at the Contact Centre offers a number of services including Funds transfers, Bill payments, Credit card payments, Mobile top ups, Balance inquiry, Statement details, blocking of lost cards, Foreign Exchange and FD rate calculators. The IVR also provides links to instant educational videos through Push SMS services. The Contact Centre is also an important touchpoint that helps the bank listen to its customers and offer them the services that they need 24/7.
Apart from incoming phone calls, the Contact Centre can be also be reached through WhatsApp. To begin using the service, customers have to save the bank’s contact centre number (24795555) in their contacts list. The number then automatically appears within WhatsApp as the verified official account of Bank Muscat. Agent assisted services are available 7 days a week from 8am to 10:30pm, while auto response is available 24/7 for queries regarding different products and services. It can also be used by customers to share feedback and suggestions. Currently, as many as 1.1 million customer queries are handled every year through the WhatsApp channel.
Contact Centre services are especially important during non-banking hours. In case of a lost or stolen card, customers can block the card against any possible misuse by using the intuitive IVR mechanism. It must also be noted that the Contact Centre is on constant vigil against card fraud with transactions both online and at Points of Sale (PoS) constantly monitored for extra security.Bank Muscat offers a sophisticated banking experience with the right mix of traditional and electronic channels to enhance financial inclusion and improve the customer experience. The auto response service through WhatsApp, Push SMS services through IVR and upgrading of the Contact Centre to the latest state-of-the-art technology are some of the customer-centric initiatives undertaken by the bank in the recent past.
The bank’s commitment to constant innovation and enhancing of the customer experience has resulted in it winning several accolades in the past. Bank Muscat was recognised as one of the “Top 100 Companies in the Middle East” and as one of the “Top 50 banks in the Region” by Forbes Middle East in 2021. The bank’s call centre has also previously won the Best Industry Call Centre (Banking) at the prestigious Insights Middle East Call Centre Awards and the Asian Banker’s Best Contact Centre Technology Award.
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