First Financial Institution in Belgium to Offer Chat via WhatsApp

Turns out, KBC Group is the first financial institution in Belgium to offer its customers the ability to chat with their bank and insurer through WhatsApp. The service is intended for quick, straightforward questions and will be answered by KBC staff. Also, the service is available on weekdays from 8 am to 10 pm and on weekends from 9 am to 5 pm.

Here’s how it works: Customers add KBC as a contact on their phone with the telephone number 09 331 78 16 (they only have to do this once), enabling them to contact KBC via WhatsApp.

“Our customers have been able to chat with us for some time. WhatsApp is a very fast and easy to access chat app that’s already familiar and intuitive to many of our customers. Now that it’s technically possible to use it for business purposes, we’re proud to be the first to offer it to our customers so they get even better service and availability from us. We’re testing it first with our Dutch-speaking customers, before expanding to the other official languages in Belgium and English. We want to give our customers the ability to contact us in a variety of ways. From good-old-fashioned branch or insurance agency visits to contact through our website, Mobile and Touch apps or KBC Live for online banking, we want to be there for them. Messaging services like Facebook Messenger and WhatsApp fit right in” – General Manager of Mobile First, Karin van Hoecke.

Bottom Line: Gulf Union comes to mind. The Saudi Arabia-based insurer launched a WhatsApp Service for auto insurance to allow policyholders to obtain a car insurance quote and ask questions regarding their claim status and car repair status.