Their Story: Indonesia’s leader in digital banking services

Indonesia’s largest bank, Bank Mandiri, prides itself on being a market leader in digital innovation.

Always looking for ways to streamline its digital offers, Bank Mandiri set its sights on making it easier for credit card customers to request payment plans and apply for new cards.

With more than 1.5 million credit card customers across the country, Bank Mandiri needed a reliable and versatile partner to take customer engagement to new heights. They chose WhatsApp to help them achieve their goals.

The Goal: Automate processes to increase conversions without burdening live agents

Bank Mandiri needed a better communication channel—one that could effectively explain the required next steps to customers and free up support agents to tackle more complex matters.

All Bank Mandiri customers who make transactions over a set amount receive an offer to convert their purchase transactions into convenient installment plans. However, to request a payment installment plan, Bank Mandiri’s customers must first verify every one of their transactions.

Before partnering with WhatsApp, the bank sent text messages with URL links to verify every transaction. But SMS messages have a 160-character limit, not nearly enough to clearly explain to customers what they need to do and why. This led to customers calling the bank en masse to speak to an agent in order to confirm the required transaction details.

The process for verifying credit card applications was similarly daunting. The URL links sent to customers once again exceeded the character limit and weren’t able to include proper instructions. Unsure of how to proceed, customers called the bank’s already-busy customer support centers to request instructions on what to do next.

Bank Mandiri needed a solution to make its communications trustworthy and clearer so that customers understood exactly how to verify purchases and create an installment plan.

The decision to go with WhatsApp Business Platform was easy, given that WhatsApp is one of the most popular messaging applications in Indonesia, with roughly 78.5 million users in 2021, according to Statista.

The bank also tapped WhatsApp partner Damcorp for the project. The goal was to drive business growth by re-engaging existing credit card customers through the WhatsApp Business Platform.

The first step was gaining the trust of customers who were eligible for installment payment plans. To do that, Bank Mandiri injected familiarity into its messaging. Known to Indonesian consumers as “the magic number,” the bank started to include their instantly recognizable 14000 customer service line in communications.

With the addition of a number that was well known to their customers, messaging became familiar and communication more convenient. Through WhatsApp, customers could now receive more detailed information about the installment plans and how to access them via URL.

It also became easier for customers to access support agents, if necessary, via a direct response through WhatsApp messaging or by tapping on the 14000 service number to initiate a call.

To streamline the credit card application process, Bank Mandiri focused on simplifying the verification process. Customers would receive push notifications asking them to verify their identities by replying directly through WhatsApp.

To confirm their identities, customers would receive a unique code—personalized to include their birth date—they could use to verify their submitted application.