This month’s Qorus Innovation in Banking award goes to Desjardins for Alvie, their new in-app virtual assistant, which takes a bold approach in offering personalized financial management support to mobile banking customers.
Qorus and Infosys Finacle launch the 2025 edition of the banking innovation awards
Virtual assistants are the new frontier in the race to deliver cutting-edge customer experiences. While many banks have already launched and honed their own customer service chatbots, so far only a few have ventured into the realm of AI personal assistants.
Desjardins decided to take this leap and integrate a virtual assistant into their mobile app, with a particular focus on financial empowerment through personalized insights and advice, helping their 2.8 million mobile banking users make informed decisions and better manage their money.
Launched in September 2024, Alvie initially focuses on insights aimed at raising awareness of cash inflows and outflows, enabling members to balance their budgets. The assistant can quickly summarize account transactions and alert members to any unusual activities. A selection of twenty tips, offered in various forms, personalizes the approach based on each member's habits and circumstances.
Moving forward, Alvie encourages members to create a monthly budget by expense category and monitors progress throughout the month, offering tools such as cash flow management and budgeting. The assistant was designed to embody a caring, intelligent and friendly persona, supporting users in managing their day-to-day finances and building confidence through a positive, interactive approach.
Desjardins adopted a bold strategy when integrating Alvie into their app and rolling it out to all users. The new virtual assistant occupies over 50% of the screen, with tips prominently displayed and no option to opt-out. The transition was softened by an initial phase focused on familiarizing users with this new form of support, allowing them to gradually adapt to Alvie's presence in their financial lives.
Despite the potential for mixed reactions or dissatisfaction with this significant overhaul of the app, Desjardins has received predominantly positive feedback on the innovation. During the test period, 80% of evaluated tips received a rating of 4 or 5 stars out of 5, and post-launch results show an impressive one-third of users interacting with the tips at least once a month. The budgeting tool has also been well received, with 145,526 budgets activated to date.
Continuous optimization of the user experience is ensured by a permanent CX team assessing and refining each tip and feature, based on ratings and interaction. As concrete savings results manifest, Desjardins clients are expected to increasingly rely on Alvie as a trusted financial advisor, supporting and empowering them with greater control over day-to-day financial management.
Alvie exemplifies the use of AI to enhance the mobile banking experience, boost financial empowerment and strengthen client relationships. Desjardins’ project is a deserving winner of the Qorus Innovation of the Month award, blazing trails for further AI-driven innovation in the industry.
As the winner of the Qorus Innovation of the Month, this innovative project will be automatically nominated for the Qorus-Infosys Finacle Banking Innovation Awards 2025. Submit your innovative projects by May 15 to be considered for the May Innovation of the Month.
