Israel's Bank Leumi has launched a standalone mobile bank modeled on consumer use of social media feeds.
The new moblie banking platform, dubbed 'Pepper', is designed to handle all of a customer's day-to-day current account activities, from on-boarding to ordering credit cards and cheques, transferring money, taking out loans and managing savings deposits.
Pepper has been built around the use of artificial intelligence, which monitors spending patterns and financial behaviours to offer personalised tips and customised content, including real-time updates on expenses, comparisons with peers and relevant news articles. Live customer service is available via video chat, online messaging, or by phone.
Currently available to domestic customers in Israel, Pepper joins the free mobile P2P payment app "Pepper Pay' which was released to app stores several months ago.
The bank says it intends to launch a 'Pepper Invest' mobile app for on-the-spot stock trading before the year is out.