City Union Bank is about to introduce robots in its branches to help customer care. The bank will be the first in India to deploy robots. Some Japanese banks have introduced them in various banking operations. MD and CEO of City Union Bank N. Kamakodi said the robot – called CUB Lakshmi – is humanoid and is part of a pilot project by the bank to improve customer relations. The first CUB Lakshmi will be deployed at the bank’s T-Nagar branch in Chennai. Initially, CUB-Lakshmi will answer generic banking related questions posed by customers. Later it will be integrated with banking systems enabling transactions. The robot, costing around Rs 8 lakh, can save work for 4 to 4 employees, Kamakodi said. Depending on the outcome of the pilot project, the bank will deploy around 25 robots in its branches by end of this year. The robots are customized versions of models developed by a French firm.
