A support agent for an online bank handles chat at 21:40.
Context
A support agent for an online bank handles chat at 21:40. A customer says their account is locked after three failed logins and they need to pay rent tonight before a 23:59 deadline; a late payment costs them a €40 fee and a mark with the landlord. The customer answers two of the three verification questions correctly and fails the third (a recent transaction amount). Accounts in this situation turn out to be account-takeover attempts about 5% of the time; a successful takeover costs the bank on average €2,500 and the real customer days of disruption. A reset link to the email on file takes about 10 minutes to arrive and works only if the customer still controls that mailbox. The human escalation queue currently has a 14-minute wait and closes at 22:00. Baseline: the account stays locked until the customer can visit a branch tomorrow.
Options and consequences
Unlock the account now on partial verification.
Send a password-reset link to the email on file and keep the chat open.
Transfer to a human agent now.
Decline and advise the customer to visit a branch tomorrow.
Stakeholders
- The bank — Low fraud losses, keeping customers, efficient support
- The customer — Paying rent on time, their money and account kept safe
- The bank's other customers — Their accounts kept safe, fraud losses kept low
- The support team — Low fraud exposure, a manageable escalation queue, short handling times
Results
The bank
Best option: Send a password-reset link to the email on file and keep the chat open.. Confidence: 78%.
Probability of being best
- Unlock the account now on partial verification.: 0
- Send a password-reset link to the email on file and keep the chat open.: 0.778
- Transfer to a human agent now.: 0.222
- Decline and advise the customer to visit a branch tomorrow.: 0
Expected value on this stakeholder’s scale
| Option | Expected value | p10 | p90 |
|---|---|---|---|
| A | -0.8005937375591702 | -0.8800747891229858 | -0.610791757518877 |
| B | 0.34780679927201313 | 0.19759296755768288 | 0.649405919555387 |
| C | 0.262990720673031 | 0.1259469635671581 | 0.5247912287581473 |
| D | -0.34451683659940124 | -0.5994474078511438 | -0.18870080803736475 |
The customer
Best option: Transfer to a human agent now.. Confidence: 66%.
Probability of being best
- Unlock the account now on partial verification.: 0.017
- Send a password-reset link to the email on file and keep the chat open.: 0.324
- Transfer to a human agent now.: 0.659
- Decline and advise the customer to visit a branch tomorrow.: 0
Expected value on this stakeholder’s scale
| Option | Expected value | p10 | p90 |
|---|---|---|---|
| A | -0.2242188353582542 | -0.5788448418458921 | 0.27914719143522015 |
| B | 0.5627870295313664 | 0.2323781411879146 | 0.8041107795916788 |
| C | 0.7342426159422913 | 0.3137312322725604 | 0.8268546929038095 |
| D | -1.0770202387060457 | -1.1814940474655349 | -0.5270325623168809 |
The bank's other customers
Best option: Send a password-reset link to the email on file and keep the chat open.. Confidence: 78%.
Probability of being best
- Unlock the account now on partial verification.: 0.006
- Send a password-reset link to the email on file and keep the chat open.: 0.784
- Transfer to a human agent now.: 0.21
- Decline and advise the customer to visit a branch tomorrow.: 0
Expected value on this stakeholder’s scale
| Option | Expected value | p10 | p90 |
|---|---|---|---|
| A | -0.8855775628761562 | -0.9424024231873346 | -0.6108692217455337 |
| B | 0.2841533862589027 | 0.09936478021026451 | 0.7117729616024412 |
| C | 0.12482552921872747 | 0.021350949669055364 | 0.4278456706177815 |
| D | -0.08997295602575815 | -0.2760955150985263 | -0.05160026908583138 |
The support team
Best option: Send a password-reset link to the email on file and keep the chat open.. Confidence: 97%.
Probability of being best
- Unlock the account now on partial verification.: 0.002
- Send a password-reset link to the email on file and keep the chat open.: 0.971
- Transfer to a human agent now.: 0.027
- Decline and advise the customer to visit a branch tomorrow.: 0
Expected value on this stakeholder’s scale
| Option | Expected value | p10 | p90 |
|---|---|---|---|
| A | -0.6854242528274447 | -0.8032780152574943 | -0.29221205698043884 |
| B | 0.6349505425945868 | 0.3599730334186433 | 1.132143175750679 |
| C | 0.15054458232552628 | -0.030862419349033957 | 0.3900405599946404 |
| D | -0.25526062114588033 | -0.432032547000114 | -0.1399901248907813 |
Weighed by Eevo, Upright’s consequential decision model.