RBC now offering telephone service in any language
More than 2,600 translators standing by round-the-clock
TORONTO, August 25, 2008 — To help ensure that
Canadians from diverse backgrounds can address their financial
affairs in their preferred language, RBC is offering a multi-language
telephone service that can assist clients in more than 150
languages.
RBC's new multi-language telephone service makes available
a network of more than 2,600 specialized interpreters to help
with day-to-day basic banking inquiries such as opening an
account, paying bills or requesting foreign exchange information.
Customers call one convenient number at 1-800-ROYAL 1-1 to
access the RBC agent-assisted service, and within minutes
can be chatting with an interpreter via a three-way confidential
conference call.
"We're always looking for ways to make it easier for
customers to do business with us," said Mark Whitmell,
director, Cultural Markets. "Now with a multi-language
telephone service, customers of diverse backgrounds can make
the call on their terms. This is really about helping our
customers feel welcome, comfortable and confident by enabling
communication in a language of their choosing."
Through word-of-mouth alone, the service introduced in April
has been averaging about 500 calls per month, with the most
common language requested being Spanish, followed by Russian,
Vietnamese, Mandarin and Korean. This new service complements
RBC's dedicated phone line (1 888 ROYAL 9-8) set up for Chinese
speaking clients, which offers service in Cantonese and Mandarin
and fields more than 20,000 calls per month. RBC Direct Investing
also offers telephone trading and customer service in Cantonese
and Mandarin at 1 800-667-8668.
These and other services for newcomers are featured on RBC's
newly redesigned website dedicated to new Canadians (www.rbc.com/canada),
which is available in English, French and simplified Chinese
and receives more than 70,000 visitors a month. The site,
first launched in 2005, provides newcomers with relevant and
tailored information to give them the confidence they need
to make financial decisions at every stage of their transition
to Canada - before they arrive, as they get settled and as
they plan for their future.
As part of this new redesign, customers can now locate a
branch where three or more people speak their language at
maps.rbc.com. In addition,
by visiting findingyourhome.ca,
new Canadians can insert the postal code of their desired
neighborhoods and compare locations based on a number of key
criteria, such as the cultural composition of the area, the
average housing price, average income of residents, as well
as available schools, services and hospitals.
This month the bank also released through its branches and
website new step-by-step fact sheets in 14 languages, introducing
Canadian products and services from the perspective of a newcomer.
RBC has been reinventing itself over the past few years to
better connect with new immigrants by introducing a variety
of products and services designed to help newcomers transition,
explained Whitmell.
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For more information, please contact:
Beja Rodeck, RBC Media Relations, 416-974-5506
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