Lunarway and Amex link with customers via Facebook messenger
Danish mobile-only bank, Lunarway has launched a beta version of its Facebook banking bot, Lunar Way Bot. Initially the chatbot will handle basic queries such as checking balances, but Mark Dissing Bækgaard, head of communications at the firm, said users will be able to use the bot to handle simple functions such as transferring money once the technology is bedded down and suitable security layers added. Lunarway follows Bank of America in using the Facebook messaging tool and American Express, which announced plans to pilot a Facebook Messenger chatbot for US cardholder earlier this month.

If you haven’t heard yet, bots are taking over financial services, and are bringing Facebook with them.

A Danish neobank called Lunarway introduced its Facebook banking bot, Lunar Way Bot 1.0, yesterday. The chatbot responds to simple queries, for now, such as checking balance, or looking up how much you spent on Amazon.com. But the queries will get more sophisticated soon, Mark Dissing Bækgaard, head of communications at Lunarway, told Bank Innovation.

“Our users will be able to handle basic functions via Messenger too, like transferring money or block card too – but this of course will demand more security like two-step-verification,” he said. “What’s next depends on the feedback we get from our users.” The bank has developed the bot in-house, according to Bækgaard.

Lunarway, launched late March, is still in beta and will go live in August (together with its Messenger bot). It is currently live with “a few thousand” users in Denmark, and 15,000 waiting to join, the bank said. Lunarway will start in Sweden and Norway this year, with the rest of Europe to follow.

The opportunities for fintech chatbots are substantial. Amex has reportedly partnered with Facebook Messenger to launch a bot for its card members, while text banking startup Dyme has already developed a prototype of a Facebook Messenger bot.