Portland-based Umpqua Bank, which has almost $29 billion in assets, is seeing a significant spike in volume on its Go-To app, a digital tool that allows customers to message a banker of their choice. According to Brian Read, Umpqua’s head of retail and small business banking, enrollment on the platform has spiked 30%, while interactions have increased 20% in the past few weeks. As of late January, the platform had 45,000 customers according to the bank. 

“We never imagined a crisis of this nature, of course, but Go-To has proven to be a uniquely powerful tool as people are facing an unprecedented disruption to all facets of life,” Read said. “They’re looking for help and to communicate with a real person they know and trust. An anonymous customer service loop or a chat bot isn’t going to cut it.” 

Umpqua designed the Go-To platform to develop its human-digital strategy, which amounts to a combination of convenient technology backed by real human beings to offer customer support. As consumers avoid branches due to the pandemic, the Go-To platform is proving to be a crucial customer engagement tool for the bank. 

Sometimes jokingly referred to as the “Tinder for bankers,” Go-To allows customers to scroll through Umpqua bankers and choose a match based on expertise, bio, location, interests and a photo. Although most customers prefer texting through the platform, they can call or video chat as well. Bankers on the platform are able to give advice and perform bank functions, such as merging accounts and freezing lost cards.  

See also: Temenos is betting on a social banking tool to help small banks compete

Each banker can serve between 750 to 800 customers and pull in subject-specific experts for a three-way call when necessary. The app also functions as a customer acquisition tool since it’s available to anyone, not solely current Umpqua customers. 

“For customers who haven’t yet enrolled, we’re reaching out across multiple channels, including email, social media, our website and in our stores and digital tools,” Read said. 

Umpqua launched Go-To in April 2019, after developing the platform in-house through its then-subsidiary Pivotus Ventures. The bank sold the innovation subsidiary to Kony in 2018, after developing the platform. 

Despite the recent enrollment spike, Read said the bank hasn’t readjusted its approach with Go-To. “We designed the platform and staffing to be scalable,” he said. “Our two Go-To banker hubs in Portland and Spokane are focused exclusively on serving customers through the platform. We also have Go-To bankers in every store who provide service off-platform, which allows them to scale as needed.”