Exclusive Interview with the DBS PayLah! Telegram Bot
Hear from our very own PayLahBot as it reveals all — from conceptualisation to beating out the competition to be an industry-first solution.
This interview was made possible with insights provided by Yi Fern Tham, Digital Product Manager, Intelligent Banking.
What if you lent your friend money and need a more convenient way to ask for it back? Enter the DBS PayLah! Telegram Bot — @PayLahBot for short — which enables DBS customers to not only request for peer-to-peer (P2P) transfers but also brings a seamless built-in payment flow, all on a chat platform that they are already using on a day-to-day basis. In an exclusive sit-down with us, @PayLahBot gets candid about what it takes to be a Singapore-first on Telegram and why innovators must be agile to disrupt the competition.
1. Can you introduce yourself?
I like to think of myself as the future of making payments. With me by your side, sending and requesting money is more straightforward than finding the perfect reaction GIF. Just summon me and let me take care of business right in your Telegram chat.
2. How did you come about?
The idea originated from DBS’ Intelligent Banking and Innovation teams and was conceptualised during the Innovation UNI.CORN programme. Back then, Telegram was gaining popularity among the younger generation of digital natives, and part of DBS’ plans to make banking services more convenient for users was to integrate such services into lifestyle apps such as social messaging platforms.
Still, I must confess, my job may be to add ease to your life, but a lot of hard work and innovation went into creating my software. A considerable effort was also put into collaborating across teams, functions and disciplines to accomplish the common goal of bringing me to life. But it was all worth it because DBS was the first in the industry to do so.
3. Were you developed as a response to a gap in the market?
Although there was interest in P2P services on Instant Messaging (IM) platforms, no bank in Singapore had yet tapped into the increasingly fast-growing IM platform Telegram. “Make Banking Invisible” has always been DBS’ ethos, and the open-source API on Telegram was the perfect opportunity to integrate PayLah!. By incorporating payment transfer in a familiar chat format within a popular social messaging app, the teams have enhanced the customer experience since users don’t need to manually toggle between different apps to perform a banking transaction. I’m not one to brag, but there really isn’t another bot like me in the market.
4. Take us through the journey which led you to where you are now.
The team that worked on me performed early surveys and teamed up with a UNI.CORN team from DBS’ Innovation Group to map out some of the customer journeys. Together with the Tech team, they explored several iterations to ensure feasibility between DBS’ back-end systems and controls and Telegram’s infrastructure.
My creators will tell you that it has been a long journey. When they started engaging stakeholders, some were unfamiliar with Telegram so the team had to educate and reassure them that it was a safe and viable platform. It is great that DBS has built a culture where senior leaders are supportive and willing to listen to recommendations and empower teams to drive innovation.
5. As a result of innovative creators, can you leave us with a piece of advice: how can innovators stay ahead of the status quo?
Individuals must constantly explore new platforms and look for ways to enhance the customer journey to stay relevant.
Before I was created, PayLah! was well received and used by many active digibank users across the country. My creators leveraged this growing trend and took it one step further by improving the customer journey to make it even simpler and more enjoyable to use, especially among the younger generations.
I’m very pleased to share that some 45,000 users used my service within the first two weeks of launch!
Have you tried the DBS PayLah! Telegram Bot? Try it out and discover a whole new level of convenience when you send and request money to and from your friends and family. For more information, check out: https://www.dbs.com.sg/personal/deposits/pay-with-ease/paylah-telegram
