Capitec has launched an AI-powered tool for its contact centre that it says reduces call handling times by up to 18% by giving agents real-time context about a client’s issue before the conversation begins.
The tool, called Pulse, is triggered when a client contacts Capitec’s support centre through its banking app. It draws on signals from across Capitec’s systems, including payment data, app diagnostics and risk indicators, to give agents an immediate picture of what has gone wrong, removing the need for clients to explain their problem from scratch.
“Faster resolution is part of it, but what we are really solving for is delivering an effortless experience for our clients when they are feeling the most frustrated,” said Capitec CIO Andrew Baker in a statement.
Testing over three months showed that agents in the pilot group initially took about 7% longer than the contact centre average to resolve issues. After Pulse was introduced, their call handling times dropped by up to 18%, translating to what Capitec described as a 26% overall performance improvement.
The bank said the tool was built from the ground up by its internal software development team, using Amazon Connect and Amazon Web Services infrastructure. It required a new database architecture to deliver real-time contextual information as calls land.
Capitec claimed Pulse is a “world first”, saying no comparable system delivers real-time situational understanding to agents at the moment a call is received. However, several major technology vendors do offer agent-assist platforms with broadly similar real-time context capabilities for contact centres.
Investing in AI
On the data privacy front, Capitec said the tool is event-triggered and time-limited, activating only when a client contacts support and operating solely during that interaction. It does not run in the background or perform behavioural profiling, the bank said, adding that it operates within the scope of its existing privacy policy and terms and conditions.
Read: Andrew Baker is new CIO of Capitec
Capitec is among several South African banks investing in AI to improve customer-facing operations, as the technology moves from back-office automation into direct service delivery. – © 2026 NewsCentral Media
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