Backbase and Unblu have announced a strategic partnership to fuse conversational tools with Backbase’s AI banking platform — aiming to make digital self-service feel less robotic and more human, while keeping compliance and security front and center.
The move bundles live chat, voice and video, co-browsing and AI chatbots into a single workflow for bank customers and frontline staff.
Why the partnership matters now
Banks have been promising smoother digital service for years, but often customers still hit a wall when automation fails.
Backbase’s platform, already used across retail, SME and wealth banking, supplies the rails; Unblu supplies the real-time human touch.
Together, they say, the idea is to let a customer slide from a chatbot into a live advisor without losing context.
The timing is notable.
Backbase reports big gains for clients — faster onboarding and higher transaction frequency — and wants to lock in more of the enterprise market.
Unblu brings experience: its tools are live at more than 170 financial institutions, including UBS and Deutsche Bank, so it’s not exactly a startup’s experiment.
One short sentence: banks want smoother, safer handoffs between machines and people.
Product details and frontline benefits
The joint solution embeds Unblu’s Conversational Engagement platform into Backbase’s employee workbench.
That means relationship managers, case workers and call-centre agents see the same customer context the digital channels do — in real time.
It’s designed to reduce repetition and speed resolution.
There’s also a big focus on AI-assisted productivity.
Routine steps can be automated, summaries created, and agents nudged with suggested next actions.
That should cut average handle time and, theoretically, lift satisfaction scores.
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For busy advisors, the obvious win is fewer clicks and less time hunting through systems; for customers, it’s fewer transfers and more immediate answers.
A short paragraph here: banks are banking on convenience to keep customers loyal.
Use cases, compliance and the business case (table included)
This is the practical bit: where the tech actually plugs in and why banks might care enough to buy it.
Onboarding and account opening are obvious targets.
Imagine starting an application at 2am, hitting a snag, and the same agent who sees your partial form guiding you through in the morning — without starting from zero.
Wealth teams can use co-browsing for portfolio walkthroughs; branch staff can augment face-to-face meetings with live video and shared documents.
Here’s a compact table to map the core use cases to benefits:
| Use Case | Feature Applied | Expected Benefit |
|---|---|---|
| Onboarding & Account Opening | Co-browsing + live chat | Faster completion, fewer drop-offs |
| Wealth Management | Video calls + agent context | Higher conversion, better advisory outcomes |
| Customer Service | AI summaries + unified workbench | Lower handle time, improved NPS |
| Hybrid Branch Experience | Video + secure chat + audit trails | Seamless compliance, richer interactions |
One-sentence glide: the table shows how the tech converts into measurable outcomes.
Compliance is not an afterthought.
Both firms stress encrypted comms, audit trails and data residency controls — the parts regulators care about.
Banks won’t deploy new customer-facing tools if they create audit headaches, so that legal box is being ticked early.
Market positioning, executive moves and what’s next
Backbase is pitching this as a pre-integrated solution available globally in early 2026.
That gives banks time to plan pilots before the new year cycle.
Backbase’s track record — including multiple Finovate Best of Show wins — helps sell the credibility story.
Unblu’s leadership shift adds a bit of drama.
Founder Luc Haldimann will move to chief strategy officer while Jens Rabe becomes sole CEO in January 2026.
Rabe’s background in marketing and operations signals a move to scale partnerships and accelerate go-to-market activities.
A short paragraph: hey — management changes are normal, but paired with a big alliance they matter more.
Analyst viewers will ask the usual questions.
How sticky will the licensing be? How easy to integrate with legacy cores? What’s the ROI timeline for a mid-size bank?
Backbase and Unblu are answering with integration, pre-built workflows, and claims of improved onboarding times and higher customer satisfaction — metrics buyers will test in pilots.
One sentence: the success test is simple — does the customer experience actually improve without ballooning costs?
Why customers and employees might actually like it
People are tired of repeating themselves to machines and humans.
When chatbots fail, customers want a human who knows what happened in that chat, not someone who asks the same four questions again.
That’s the use-case these vendors are selling.
Back-office staff also get something: a unified view that cuts through multiple legacy systems and surfaces what they actually need to fix a problem.
That’s practical, not buzzwordy.
Finally, bank execs get the sales pitch they love: measurable gains in onboarding speed, transactions and satisfaction — plus the appeal of maintaining regulatory controls.
If pilots in 2026 back these claims, expect more banks to sign up.
One-sentence paragraph: simple value, if delivered, will lead to uptake.
