Financial institutions have never been afraid of adopting emerging technologies or even dabbling into experimental tech like selfie verification. Bank of America is one of the best examples of such endeavors as this corporation has already poured countless resources into developing Internet banking products and services and is regularly updating its offerings. However, every once in a while, this Charlotte, North Carolina-based financial institution decides to come up with something completely new.
Cue Erica, a virtual assistant that’s currently in development by Bank of America. As stated in a short press release sent to US media outlets earlier today, Erica has been specifically designed to help you with managing your finances. While the assistant is developed for smartphone use, it won’t be a standalone app. Instead, Erica will be hosted by Bank of America’s existing mobile apps. In other words, it doesn’t sound like this creation was meant to rival the likes of Google Assistant and Alexa but is instead meant to offer an alternative to traditional money management apps. So, instead of using something like Monefy Pro to track your expenses and calculate whether you can afford to dine out three times a week, you’ll soon be able to do all of that by simply speaking to your Erica-infused Bank of America app.
Sure, communication with Erica will also be possible via text but simply asking your phone whether paying for an NBA League Pass is the best use of your money definitely adds a new layer of convenience to that whole money management thing. It’s worth noting that Erica won’t just be a passive assistant. Bank of America revealed that this digital helper will also analyze your spending patterns and warn you when you overdo it so that you have enough time to figure things out and avoid facing huge bills. In addition to that, Erica will give you credit rating advice, tips about budgeting, and even offer some level-1 tech support. Couple that with the fact that this assistant will also help you with processing transactions and it’s hard to argue that Erica doesn’t sound like a rather useful tool for most existing Bank of America customers.
Unfortunately, no specific release dates have yet been given but more information is expected to follow soon. Bank of America stated that it’s currently planning to launch Erica in about a year as the assistant is still in early stages of development and more work needs to be done before this promising tool hits the market.