Automating Credit Card Refunds/ Disputes: Streamlining Process with AI‍

I arrived at the airport only to discover that my flight had been canceled amid the Crowdstrike chaos. What followed truly surprised me!

At the check-in counter, I inquired about the next steps, and the staff directed me to message the chatbot. I was perplexed. Why was I being routed to a chatbot when the staff were right in front of me? How could the chatbot possess more knowledge or authority than the airline employees?

Soon, I was interacting with an AI agent. It requested relevant information about my trip, such as my booking code and identification documents. The AI agent had a very precise flow for my situation. Even before I could fully process the cancellation of my flight, I was seamlessly booking the next available flight without any additional charges—all through a chatbot. At the end of the chat, I was informed that I was eligible for compensation under EU laws and was given options for my preferred mode of payment. Within a minute, the compensation was refunded to my credit card. I was astonished, but this experience restored my faith in the airline!

In today’s fast-paced financial landscape, manual refund processing can be a significant bottleneck and pain point for users. This leads to delays, customer dissatisfaction, and increased operational costs for financial institutions. Customers expect quick resolutions to their refund requests, but traditional methods often fall short, resulting in frustration and diminished trust in the services provided.

But this was a unique case

I have been working in the customer service industry for 5+ years now, and never have I ever gotten a refund without speaking to a human agent first. That too never before 5-10 working days!

Over the non AI years I have observed various solutions that aim to address the inefficiencies in credit card refund processing. While these solutions offer some benefits, they also have notable drawbacks. To discuss some

• Archaic Manual Processing: This traditional method involves customer service representatives handling refund requests manually. It is time-consuming, prone to human error, and struggles to scale effectively during peak periods. To save processing costs, organizations often accumulate refunds and process them every 5-10 days, leading to disappointment and frustration among affected customers.
• Automated Phone Systems: These systems can handle basic refund requests but often provide a poor user experience. Customers must navigate through numerous options before finding what they need, leading to wasted time and dissatisfaction.
• Web Forms: Online forms allow customers to submit refund requests, but these usually end up with a human agent who manually vets and processes the request. The multiple steps involved often result in delays and reduced efficiency.

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The Future is Now: AI Chatbots

AI chatbots are revolutionizing the refund process by automating it with advanced capabilities. Here’s how:

1. Initial Request Handling: AI agents can manage refund requests by understanding customer queries with deep context and identifying the right next steps. They provide instant responses around the clock, often in the customer's preferred language, and maintain an empathetic tone throughout.

✨ In fact with Fini you do this in customers' native languages to ensure excellent customer satisfaction. According to Common Sense Advisory, 76% of customers prefer to operate products and services in their native language. Moreover, 40% of consumers will not engage with websites in other languages, highlighting the importance of multilingual support.

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2. Data Collection and Verification: AI agents collect essential information such as transaction details and refund reasons. This data is securely captured and verified in real-time against internal records for accuracy and compliance. 

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💡In fact at Fini we have designed a product feature called Flows to handle such sensitive information flow. Our goal was 100% accuracy for the critical business processes, leaving nothing to second chances. 

The high-stakes instances are routed through predefined process flows, collecting necessary inputs from the users and then routing them through set personalized channels, ensuring they are managed with the utmost care and precision. This enabled one of client DistroKid to handle sensitive topics, such as unfulfilled payment withdrawal requests or time sensitive metadata edit requests with increased speed and accuracy.‍

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3. Integration with Financial Systems: After collecting the necessary information, AI agents integrate with the bank’s internal systems to process refunds. This includes validating transactions, checking for fraud indicators, and ensuring prompt crediting of the refund to the customer’s account. 

Case Study: AI’s use case in information assimilation and fraud detection has proved real helpful to fintech’s across domains.For instance implementing the AI-based credit scoring system revolutionized SwiftCredit Lending’s approach to loan approvals. The company reported a 40% increase in approved loans, significantly reducing default rates by 25% within the first six months.

4. Real-Time Updates and Tracking: AI agents provide real-time updates on refund status, ensuring transparency. They remain available for follow-up questions, reducing the need for additional calls and emails, and freeing up customer service resources.

AI chatbots are reducing operational costs in financial services by handling customer queries efficiently. According to Juniper Networks, banks are already saving roughly $7.3 billion annually using chatbots.

Security and Compliance

Handling financial data requires strict adherence to security and compliance standards. It is crucial to select your AI partner carefully. For more information on choosing the right AI partner, refer to our blog.

Concerns about data security are valid. For example, the 2015 data breach at the federal Office of Personnel Management compromised the personal information of over twenty million people, and the 2017 Equifax breach exposed 143 million consumers to identity theft and fraud.

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Integration Made Easy

Integrating an AI agent into your support ecosystem is straightforward. We wanted to list down step-by-step how easy it is to integrate an AI agent in your support ecosystem. We are explaining this for Zendesk but feel free to block a 30 mins demo with us to learn about your specific tools. Trust me this 30 min is nothing but an investment in saving countless hours later 🙂

Another success story to close the article - Bank of America has automated credit card dispute handling, improving consistency, speed, and accuracy while reducing manual reviews and operational costs.

Implementing AI in credit card refund processes not only streamlines operations but also meets the growing expectations of tech-savvy consumers for quick and efficient service. For more details on how AI can transform financial services, get in touch with us with the below mentioned options!!