[1mm Financial Talk] Why Toss Is Now Adding a 'Search Function'

Toss Tests Search Function for Some Users and Employees
Provides 'Currency Exchange' Feature Even When Customers Search 'When Traveling'
"Properly Finds Services Perfectly Suited for Users"

The search feature recently implemented for Toss employees and some users.

[Asia Economy Reporter Song Seung-seop] The Toss application (app) is set to add a search function. Until now, Toss had not incorporated a search feature as part of its strategy to enhance the customer app experience. However, as the number of functions in the Toss app continues to grow, it is interpreted that adding a search function was an inevitable choice to maintain the ‘super app’ strategy of using a single app.

According to the financial sector on the 10th, a search function was recently added to the app of some Toss users. This allows access to functions across the entire group, including Toss Bank’s ‘Create Card’ and individual ‘Stock Item Search’ through Toss Securities, as well as Toss itself.

Toss employees have also been using the search function in the Toss app since June. As a kind of internal test, Toss typically tests new services with employees first before launching them publicly. This is to identify unexpected drawbacks and discover areas for improvement in advance to reduce customer inconvenience.

The absence of a search function in the Toss app was part of a customer experience enhancement strategy. A Toss official hinted, “There is an effect where customers discover other useful functions while looking for the menu they want in the Toss app.” Toss has continuously added innovative features from the beginning, and the best way to highlight these is through customers’ voluntary discovery.

Nevertheless, the background for creating the search function lies in Toss’s unique super app strategy of integrating all functions into one app. Unlike the early days when it only handled simple remittances, the current Toss app includes Toss Bank and Toss Securities. There are more than 70 functions visible in the full menu. If customers have to find dozens of functions one by one without search, it could increase their inconvenience.

How Smart Is Toss’s Search Function?

The key is how smart the search function is made. When commercial banks launched banking apps and introduced search functions, they sometimes received complaints from customers. This was because poor algorithms failed to display the desired results properly.

In response, major banks are enhancing their search capabilities using artificial intelligence (AI) and big data technologies. KB Kookmin Bank offers chatbot search that allows communication via text or voice. Shinhan Bank improved its chatbot ‘Aurora’ in February this year to analyze non-face-to-face consultation records and provide customized consultations. Woori Bank also advanced its AI consultation bot and chatbot to offer personalized services based on customer information.

Toss also applied AI technology to its search function. Through this, even if the exact search term is not entered, AI finds the service that matches the user’s intent. The AI is based on a natural language model specialized in the financial sector. A natural language model is based on language naturally used by humans, not keywords recognized by computers. For example, if a customer enters only the search term ‘yeohaenggalttae’ (when traveling), Toss automatically guides them to the currency exchange function. If the desired search result is not obtained, customers can also send feedback directly to Toss.

A Toss official said, “Since there are so many services, the goal is to properly find the service that fits the user perfectly,” adding, “The public release date is currently undecided.”