Update 1: Livia also provides information by phone, at 0264 30 80 28 or *8028 (23 March 2018)

Update 2: In January and February this year, Livia provided clients with over 200,000 answers. Such a hard worker, our Livia (28 February 2018)

When, as a client of our bank, you need certain information, you stop by to see us, get in touch with colleagues in our branches or at the call center, or write to us on social media. How many times have you needed your BT account IBAN in a hurry, or wanted to know — just as quickly — how much you have in your account? Do you remember when you needed a detail about the instalment on your loan with us, but couldn’t make it to BT because you were too busy? Or when you weren’t sure how many Star loyalty points you had on your shopping card so you could use them when you shop? Or when it felt too late to call the call center?

The good news is that, from now on, we can chat any time via our new colleague, the chatbot Livia, about your current account and the BT products and services you use. How? Simple: via Facebook Messenger sau via Skype. Non-stop, free, via chat!

What Livia can help you with, how to get up to speed quickly, where the idea for this one-of-a-kind project in Romania came from and her story — all below.

What Livia can help you with on Facebook Messenger or Skype:

• the IBAN of your account in RON, EUR or USD
• your BT current account balances
• amounts due on your credit cards
• how many Star loyalty points you’ve accumulated on your shopping card
• information on loan instalments, interest and fees
• information about garnishments
• the exchange rate

How to get started with Livia, our chatbot

Either on Facebook Messenger or on Skype — here’s how:

• On Facebook: like the Livia de la BT page → Messenger → Start → Registration (from the on‑screen menu) → enter your unique identification code → enter the validation code received on your phone → type your question
• On Skype: add Livia de la BT to your contacts → Start → Registration (from the on‑screen menu) → enter your unique identification code → enter the validation code received on your phone → type your question

If you’re wondering what the unique identification code is and how to find it, you’ll find details on the IntrebBT platform. You’re surely also asking how the confidentiality of the information you receive from Livia is ensured: it’s guaranteed by the two access codes required to start the conversation with Livia, mentioned above.

How the story began and what the colleagues directly involved with Livia have to say

The project was developed in‑house at Banca Transilvania, through collaboration between the IT, Retail Product Development and Marketing & Communication teams.

"At one point, we got an email from someone in top management about people building chatbots. We put together what was in there with what I knew about the topic and, fascinated by it, the most natural question came up: Could we do something like this at BT?" recalls Marius Ursuti, IT Director at Banca Transilvania, about the idea of such a bot for BT clients. The answer was yes, and that’s how it started.

There were also two threads that converged on the idea of a bank chatbot: our IT colleagues, who would turn to the teammate they knew would always help with the information they needed, and a conversation with a client at one point. “In IT, whenever we’re unsure — if we need information about a card or a loan, or we want to do something more sophisticated — we know exactly whom to ask: our colleague Livia from Retail Banking :). Starting from these simple needs of ours — always many and urgent :) - our colleague, Dragos Camara, built a bot we called Livia from BT, available 24/7 and ready to provide quick, useful information to our clients — and to us, the team” says, with a touch of humour, Cristian Campian, Deputy Director, Application Development, BT. Livia Bozdog, Card Portfolio Manager, Card Commercial Services, BT, adds to the story: “I remember a few months ago having a phone conversation with one of our clients, subscribed to the Voice Teller service, whom I helped with a few details. Our exchange was a simple Q&A, very to the point, and I probably gave him the feeling there was a robot at the other end of the line. At the end of the discussion, when I asked for a few more details to help him, he asked me: But miss, what happened to you? Up to now you were a robot. Of course I smiled — and I really did think it would be useful to have something like this, available to clients around the clock.”

"The initial nudge came from our call center colleagues, focused on streamlining interactions with clients. By analysing, every month, the information clients ask for most often, they concluded that for the most sought‑after items the bank needs to be available around the clock. So we found a solution: our new colleague, the chatbot Livia, who helps with information 24/7 and is more than welcome on our team" says Oana Ilas, Coordinating Director, Retail Product Development and Management, BT.

The next step for Livia was the initial build — with all the usual challenges — especially as Banca Transilvania is the first bank in Romania to offer this kind of communication tool for clients, so it’s pioneering work. "The first attempts were more like a conversation with Hodor from Game of Thrones: whatever we asked the bot, it replied that it couldn’t comment. But we persevered, and now Livia is quite talkative and already knows quite a lot" says Dragos Camara, Head of the Software Design and Architecture Office, Banca Transilvania.

BT wanted Livia to feel as human as possible, so besides being available on social media (Facebook Messenger and Skype), she has a name and, more than that, a human likeness. Also in the … human category is this joke: “Epic is what a colleague commented”, adds Dragos Camara — “When I’m bored at home, I chat with Livia. I just hope my wife doesn’t ask me one day who ‘Livia from BT’ is :)”.

Livia, our chatbot — a quick profile :), instead of conclusions:

• She’s there 24/7 and chatty — waiting for you on Facebook Messenger and Skype
• She gives you instant information about your accounts with our bank, as well as certain BT products and services
• She gives you flexibility, saves you time and brings a new way to interact with our bank
• She’s the newest way for clients to communicate with BT. And there’s no one quite like Livia :) … at other banks around here.
• She’s an idea from the BT team
• This launch is a step forward for BT on its path toward digitalisation

We welcome Livia to the BT team — and to you, happy and useful chatting with our chatbot!