Transforming digital banking in local languages
AI in Financial services: How remittance provider handles 30% more inquires without scaling the team
6.6K
+110%YoY ▲
chats handled annually
60K
+123%YoY ▲
interactions handled annually
85%
+16%YoY ▲
inquiries automated
85% inquiries automated +16%YoY
85% inquiries automated +16%YoY
60K interactions handled annually +123%YoY
60K interactions handled annually +123%YoY
6.6K interactions handled annually +110%YoY
6.6K interactions handled annually +110%YoY
Universal Storefront Services Corporation (USSC) is a leading provider of financial services in the Philippines. For over 60 years, USSC has delivered inclusive, innovative products to millions of Filipinos—offering services such as remittances, digital banking, and bill payments.
As digital adoption accelerated, USSC saw an opportunity to improve customer support with AI. Partnering with Proto, the company launched a multilingual ai chat assistant to handle high inquiry volumes without increasing headcount. The result: scalable customer service, faster issue resolution, and higher satisfaction.
Challenge: Keeping up with growth in AI financial services
With expanding operations and growing demand for digital remittances and financial services, USSC experienced rising pressure on its customer support channels. Inquiries ranged from transaction statuses to mobile app troubleshooting, often in both English and Tagalog.
Manual triaging caused delays, inconsistent responses, and high dependency on live agents. To sustain quality, USSC needed a finance ai chatbot that could:
- Automate answers for common service inquiries
- Support multiple languages used by its nationwide customer base
- Seamlessly escalate unresolved queries to human agents
This transformation was also driven by customer expectations for secure, round-the-clock digital engagement—raising the stakes for trust and reliability in AI deployments for the banking and finance sector.
Process: Mapping and deploying AI assistants in finance
Rather than layering automation on top of existing workflows, Proto reimagined the support journey from the ground up. Through collaborative design and localisation, the assistant was tailored to USSC’s service mix and regional customer needs.
Needs Assessment
Proto conducted a comprehensive review with USSC’s CX and operations teams to identify high-friction areas. Common use cases like lost card reporting, fraud complaints, OTP issues, and remittance tracking were prioritised for automation.
Intent Training and Knowledge Base Design
The ai-powered personal assistants were trained using past support transcripts, FAQs, and customer behaviour data. The assistant was optimised for both Tagalog and English, enabling confident handling of diverse query formats and expressions. A structured knowledge base covered:
- U Mobile app troubleshooting
- U Card and account services
- Remittance amendments, cancellations, and live tracking
Multilingual Automation and Ticket Escalation
When the assistant couldn't resolve an issue, it created a pre-filled ticket for agent follow-up, reducing repetition and response time. This blend of automation and human handover was especially effective in maintaining service quality.
Privacy and Security Compliance
USSC and Proto implemented strong safeguards aligned with data privacy and security in ai. The assistant platform features:
- End-to-end encryption
- On-premise deployment options for compliance
- Minimal data retention and GDPR-aligned controls
These ai based security solutions ensured USSC’s digital transformation met the standards expected in ai in financial services.
Solution: Scalable AI chat assistant for Philippine financial services
USSC now offers 24/7 support through its website and digital channels with UNA, a multilingual ai chat assistant powered by Proto. This virtual assistant manages a wide range of use cases across four key areas:
- Complaint Filing
– Lost U Card, fraud, and service complaints
– Automatic ticket generation and routing - Remittance Support
– Step-by-step guidance for online money transfers
– Real-time transaction tracking and amendment handling - U Mobile App Assistance
– Troubleshooting OTP, login, wallet functions
– Password resets and account access issues - Seamless Escalation to Human Agents
– Pre-filled ticketing with conversation context
– Reduced handling time and improved customer satisfaction
60K
+123%YoY ▲
interactions handled annually
85%
+16%YoY ▲
inquiries automated
With Proto’s ai-powered voice assistants, USSC achieved:
- 30% more support capacity with the same team size
- Faster and more accurate response times
- Enhanced service in both English and Tagalog
- Higher trust thanks to embedded privacy and security measures
The deployment is a strong example of how ai in banking and finance can improve service delivery while preserving empathy and compliance. As USSC transitions to Proto’s upgraded AICX platform, it is well positioned to further scale its services and deepen customer engagement across digital touchpoints.
About Proto
Proto is the leading generative AICX platform for local languages. Its inclusive text and voice AI assistants excel at usecases for customer experience, consumer protection, employee experience, and indoor navigation. The Proto AICX Platform is powered by large language models and the proprietary ProtoAI engine for high accuracy in underserved languages. Proto deployments feature enterprise-grade security and capabilities such as on-premise hosting, customised analytics, and a 24/7 prompt engineering service. Headquartered in Waterloo, Canada, Proto is a global team operating across Latin America, Africa, and Asia.