U.S. Bank’s Spanish-speaking customers can now service their auto loans by speaking into the bank’s mobile app.

The Minneapolis-based bank last month launched a Spanish-language version of its smart voice assistant — Asistente Inteligente de U.S. Bank — that allows consumers who select Spanish as their preferred language in the app to search for checking and routing numbers, check balance and transaction history, transfer money, make payments and check their credit score by speaking into their smartphones or by typing an inquiry, Richard Weeks, head of conversational experiences and capabilities, told Auto Finance News in an email response.

“If spoken to, [the voice assistant] will offer a speech response; if you type a request, or navigate via touch, it will respond with readable text and visuals,” Weeks said.

The update means Spanish-speaking consumers can also use voice assistance to manage their auto loans, including viewing outstanding balances and payment due dates, making payments or receiving payoff quotes, a spokesperson told AFN. U.S. bank had $24.7 billion in auto outstandings as of March 31.

The $587 billion bank launched its English-language smart assistant in the app in July 2020, which took more than a year to complete, Weeks said. During the past six months, the bank has been working to launch the tool in Spanish, he said, noting voice assistants in general have become popular among consumers for everything from TV remotes to cars and appliances.

“Even before the pandemic began, we recognized the growth in voice assistant usage, and that our customers would find value in it,” Weeks said, adding that the English version has handled millions of consumer queries since it launched. “Shortly after releasing our English-language version, we started thinking about ways to expand it.”

U.S. Bank built the new version of the app with expertise from Spanish speakers, with Hispanic employees at the U.S. Bank Nosotros Latinos Business Resource Group testing to ensure the voice assistant was using the language in its proper context, according to a release.

“Translation apps sometimes struggle to decipher words with more than one meaning, such as ‘balance’ — are we talking about your equilibrium or how much money is in your account?” Weeks said in a statement. “Our software engineers solved for that through a hybrid approach using smart technology, natural language processing and real-time interpretation.”

Improving financial inclusion

U.S. Bank’s Spanish-language assistance aims to “help diverse customers build wealth,” Weeks told AFN. “We are focused on removing barriers to accessing best-in-class financial services, and this removes the language barrier,” he said, adding that the bank has so far been “pleased with the level of adoption.”

Financial inclusion is top of mind for auto lenders, especially as the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) takes a closer look at potential discrimination in loan servicing and collections. The CFPB’s advisory opinion released last week highlighted its increased focus on the Equal Credit Opportunity Act (ECOA) as it relates to discriminatory practices beyond loan decisioning.

To ensure they are compliant, lenders should watch for consumers being left out of programs due to language barriers, Jean Noonan, partner at consumer financial services law firm Hudson Cook, told AFN. For example, the CFPB considered it unfair practice in a case in which client representatives called only English-speaking consumers to offer payment assistance because the representatives did not speak Spanish, Noonan said.

“The CFPB said you don’t get to treat your customers less favorably because they have a Spanish language preference, just because you chose to use a call center or it might have cost you a little more to expand this privilege to all your customers who are equally delinquent,” she said.

Editor’s Note: This piece previously appeared on Bank Automation New’s sister site, Auto Finance News.

Bank Automation Summit Fall 2022, taking place Sept. 19-20 in Seattle, is a crucial event on automation and automation technology in banking. Learn more and register for Bank Automation Summit Fall 2022.