NatWest tests AI spending insights & fraud support

NatWest Group has introduced new artificial intelligence tools for spending analysis and fraud support, with the spending tool initially being tested through Royal Bank of Scotland.

The new Spending Insights tool uses voice or text conversations to let customers ask about their finances in natural language. NatWest described it as the first bank to test a real-time voice-to-voice conversational AI experience for this type of service.

Customers can ask follow-up questions, interrupt and change topic during conversations about spending, budgeting and financial habits. The system also presents transaction data as personalised insights and graphs to help users understand their finances and identify areas where they may be able to save money.

Developed by its Chief AI Research Office, the tool runs on NatWest's own Small Language Model. The launch marks another step in the lender's effort to build more of its customer-facing AI systems in-house.

Fraud support

Alongside the spending tool, NatWest has launched a Fraud Triage Agent within Cora, its digital assistant. The service is intended for customers concerned about suspicious credit card transactions who want help reaching the right fraud, scam or dispute team.

Instead of asking customers to classify the issue themselves, the tool lets them describe what happened and then directs them to the most suitable support route. Nearly 19,000 customer conversations have been handled through the tool since launch, according to NatWest.

The focus on fraud support reflects the scale of online financial crime affecting consumers. NatWest cited industry data showing that about 80% of fraud-related activity begins online and through telecoms platforms.

Customer habits

The announcement also included findings from NatWest's AI Adoption Report, which examined how the bank's retail customers are using AI in everyday life and in managing their finances. The research was based on responses from more than 2,400 NatWest customers and benchmarked against a nationally representative sample of 1,800 UK consumers.

The figures point to growing use of AI tools among consumers. According to the survey, 57% of customers said they were using AI much more than six months earlier, while 40% said they used AI tools most days or daily.

NatWest found that 22% of customers use AI platforms for financial information and advice. The most common uses were finding deals and products at 42%, savings tips at 38%, explaining financial terminology at 38%, and checking scams and fraud at 36%.

The survey also suggested interest in AI support for more complex financial decisions. NatWest said 64% of respondents would be interested in AI helping them through the mortgage journey and identifying suitable options.

At the same time, the findings showed continued caution about AI's role in financial services. Some 81% of respondents said access to a real person remained the most important factor in building trust in AI use in banking, while 77% wanted confidence that AI-enabled services would work with complete reliability. The same proportion wanted clarity about how their data is handled.

Three quarters of those surveyed said strong oversight by independent regulatory bodies was important. The findings suggest that while customers are becoming more familiar with AI, they still expect human support, transparency and external scrutiny when it is used in sensitive financial settings.

Dr Maja Pantic outlined NatWest's view of how these systems are changing customer interactions with banks.

"The most exciting AI developments are still ahead of us. Success will not be determined by who adopts AI fastest, but by who adopts it most thoughtfully. Our role is to understand emerging technologies and carry out cutting-edge research that addresses real customer needs so we can earn the trust that allows innovation to scale. We're moving beyond simple written question-and-answer interactions towards more natural, audio-visual conversations that allow customers to engage with complex information in a way that feels intuitive and interactive. That's a significant step forward in how people can interact with their bank in the future," said Dr Pantic, Chief AI Research Officer, NatWest Group.

For retail banking, the lender sees AI as a way to simplify routine interactions while keeping staff available when customers need direct help.

"Customers are already using AI as part of their everyday lives, and that is raising expectations of what great banking should feel like. They want experiences that are simpler, more personal and more responsive, while still knowing there's someone to turn to when it matters. Through these new tools, we're strengthening customer relationships by combining the strength of AI with the expertise and judgement of our colleagues to help customers make sense of their money, access support more quickly and navigate important financial decisions with greater confidence," said Chamberlain.