Over the past few years, Sberbank has regularly hit the headlines due to the rapid development of its activities in the retail sphere. Kirill Tsarev is the professional responsible for this direction. In particular, he supervises the integration of AI-based technologies, diversification of the available payment methods and switch to client-centricity. Kirill Tsarev is also Sberbank’s First Deputy Chairman of the Board and the head of the Wealth Management unit.
Customer-Centricity as the Key Principle
On December 6, 2023, the bank organized the Investor Day to present the strategy of its development till 2026. Kirill Tsarev clarified at the event: “Human-centricity is not only about technology. The transformation to a human-centered business model includes a culture of caring.” For the successful implementation of the strategy, three key factors are required: the widespread use of AI-based solutions, a culture of caring and an understanding of the life situations in which customers may find themselves.
According to Kirill Tsarev, Sberbank currently caters to over 108 million individuals. They can benefit from an extensive range of services, not necessarily financial ones. AI-powered solutions promptly assess the needs of each customer and offer only suitable products to them.
Capabilities of Already Existing AI-Based Tools
Kirill Tsarev explained that Sberbank employs a variety of AI-based tools, each of which targets a specific problem, area or type of request. All of them keep on continuously learning and accumulating huge amounts of data.
The most obvious example is the voice assistant that greets clients when they call the bank and is capable of answering the most common questions. Another popular product analyzes loan applications and approves them in a couple of minutes. A dedicated solution detects the mistakes that the human operators of the call center make. In addition, there is an instrument that identifies the initial stages of emotional burnout among staff members, enabling them to prevent it on time.
Clients who are interested in taking out a mortgage often want assistance in finding housing, assessing infrastructure and checking documents. Especially for them, the Domclick marketplace was launched, which covers all these needs.
Kirill Tsarev states that 1.7 million customers use the Money Before Paycheck service. It allows people to borrow a sum that does not exceed half of their salary for up to one month. The interest rates are favorable and applications are approved in a matter of minutes.
The clients of Sber do not need to always carry a card with them. Over 2 million terminals accept payments with QR codes and 200,000 allow people to pay for goods and services using their biometric data. An audio assistant is installed on 95% of self-service devices to assist people with visual impairments.
Kirill Tsarev highlights that Sberbank’s products, designed to protect customers’ personal data, have repeatedly proven their reliability. They managed to prevent more than 550 DDoS attacks over the past two years. At the same time, Sber strives to enhance the cyber literacy of its audience. It regularly notifies clients about new fraudulent schemes and offers them a themed simulator to hone their skills in interacting with a virtual fraudster.
Speaking about the future plans of Sber, Kirill Tsarev mentioned the AI-powered virtual financial consultant that is expected to be launched in 2024. Its services will be much more affordable than those of a human expert. This tool has access to regulatory legal acts, economic forecasts and up-to-date information on the state of the securities market. It will analyze the client’s investment portfolio, propose measures to optimize it and explain which property should be insured.
Kirill Tsarev’s Biography
Kirill Tsarev was born in 1978 in St. Petersburg. He got two degrees — in economics and law. The top manager has been working in commercial structures since the age of 18. He headed Interleasing LLC and in 2009, became the president of the United Leasing Association.
The part of Kirill Tsarev’s biography related to Sberbank began in 2011. At first, he held the position of Deputy General Director of Sberbank Leasing JSC. Then, he headed several divisions of the bank. In 2018, he became Vice President and curator of its Corporate Business sector. Two years later, the top manager landed the position of senior vice president, joined the Board and took the position of deputy chairman.
