FINCA Uganda needed to deliver high-quality support without the expanding expense of physical branches. However, AI agent systems also have costs that can be unpredictable and scale quickly. Eclectics identified five key challenges:

• Extending financial customer support into rural and low-income segments
• Automating high-volume inquiries to mitigate the cost live agents
• Finding new ways to cross-sell financial products via digital channels
• Maintaining full compliance with Uganda's data protection laws
• Providing localised and secure AI at a reliable fixed cost

The FINCA brand is known globally for its inclusive values. So addressing these five challenges would require an AI provider that also understood the African context, with deep experience in the continent's regulated financial sector.

Eclectics selected Proto given its experience with African financial regulators for AI-based consumer protection deployments. Together, the companies executed the implementation of FINCA's AI agent, named Flora, with the following steps:

• Workflow mapping with FINCA Uganda to automate tasks such as account opening, balance checks, and customer education
• Dialogue building using Proto’s no-code and LLM-powered AI agent editor to answer product queries and launch proactive chats
• Secure API integration with FINCA’s core banking platform to allow real-time access to customer data such as account balances
• Omnichannel deployment across website and Uganda's main messaging apps, WhatsApp and Messenger
• Training and onboarding for FINCA’s live agent team to respond to chat and ticket escalations

The Proto solution now supports a full range of financial service automations tailored to FINCA Uganda’s operations:

• ‍Account inquiry automation that allows customers to verify their identity and check their balance through messaging apps. This relies on a secure API connection to FINCA’s banking system.
• Digital customer onboarding with messaging-based account creation steps, including eligibility checks and documentation. This reduces branch traffic and simplifies the new customer experience, especially in rural areas.
• Transaction security measures that require customers to verify their identity using one-time codes sent to their mobile numbers. This adds a layer of security while maintaining ease of access via chat.‍
• Financial literacy where FINCA customers receive tips on budgeting, saving, and responsible borrowing. This uses proactive chat to highlight available products and best practices.
• ‍FAQ resolution for high-volume inquiries around loan products, repayment schedules, eligibility, and transaction processes. This reduces the load on FINCA's live agent team.
• ‍Chat escalation with summarisation of customer issues within Proto's unified Inbox module. This helps live agents to quick understand customer needs and respond contextually.
• ‍Hybrid data hosting that keep financial consumer information within FINCA"s database. This ensures compliance with Uganda’s data protection regulations while using cost-effective cloud hosting.