NA National Bank of Canada

FICX (http://www.ficx.io), innovator in CX Automation, today announced that it has secured $8 million in venture capital funding to accelerate the development of its software to automate customer processes and deliver them over any customer channel. The lead investors in the Series B funding round include NAventures, the corporate venture capital arm of National Bank of Canada, and Prytek, a multinational technology group delivering enterprise technology and managed services in finance and insurance. Previous investor Liberty Global Ventures also participated in the round.

FICX is the new trading name for CallVU, a digital CX pioneer that has historically focused on solutions specifically for call centers. The new name better reflects how the company’s no-code CX automation platform is solving complex process challenges across a broad range of customer channels, touchpoints and use cases.

“Managing the customer experience has moved beyond a nice-to-have and is now arguably one of the most critical components of competitive advantage,” said Michael Oiknine, CEO of FICX. “The global market for customer experience software management is expected to reach $14.45 billion by 2025, but there are surprisingly few companies providing the no-code tools needed to rapidly digitize and automate broken customer journeys. With this new investment round, FICX will be able to expand our core platform as well as drive market adoption of our CX Automation tools.”

FICX’s no-code approach to customer experience rapidly digitizes and automates broken customer journeys, transforming them into frictionless, end-to-end digital experiences. Using FICX, companies can easily add custom digital workflows in any customer channel including websites, apps, chat, IVR, call centers, and in-store. FICX integrates with existing enterprise technology to facilitate automation with prebuilt connectors and robust APIs that sync front-end experiences with backend CRM, Contact Center, Service Desk, and Payment systems. FICX customers include National Bank of Canada, Bank Leumi, Banca Transylvania, and the Israeli Ministry of Health.

Over the last few years, there has been significant interest and investment in RPA (robotic process automation) to automate internal workflows. Customer-facing workflows can benefit as much, or more, from process automation. However, customer-facing process are more unpredictable and complex. The ability to build no-code digital interfaces, integrations and automations makes FICX ideal for rapid automation of customer-facing processes. FICX makes it easy for brands to design and build secure, automated CX workflows without writing code.

According to Gartner's research, more than 80% of organizations say they expect to compete primarily on customer experience. Gartner also reports a substantial increase in CX spending, with 74% of companies polled indicating they expected to increase their CX budget. Forrester notes that an increase of one point on their proprietary Customer Experience Index can increase revenue by more than $1 billion, with additional CX improvements driving even greater revenue growth.

“Demand for CX technology is rising as more organizations allocate capital to deliver the effortless digital experiences that customers have come to expect from service providers,” said Igal Ohayon, Investment Director at NAventures. “There are few best-of-breed software tools available capable of automating and customizing the customer journey the way that FICX can. Investing in FICX gives us a stake in a burgeoning market as well as access to cutting edge CX Automation technology.”

About FICXFICX is reimagining the way leading brands digitally transform their customer experience. As a pioneer and a leader in no-code CX app development and automation, FICX empowers modern enterprises to rapidly digitize and automate CX journeys and deploy them anywhere they engage customers. By removing friction from sales and service interactions, our clients cut costs, convert more sales and keep customers happy. For more information, visit www.ficx.io.

About National Bank of Canada and NAventuresWith $351 billion in assets as at April 30, 2021, National Bank of Canada, together with its subsidiaries, forms one of Canada's leading integrated financial groups. It has more than 26,000 employees in knowledge-intensive positions and has been recognized numerous times as a top employer and for its commitment to diversity. Its securities are listed on the Toronto Stock Exchange (TSX: NA). Follow the Bank’s activities at nbc.ca or via social media such as Facebook, LinkedIn and Twitter.

NAventures, the corporate venture capital arm of National Bank of Canada, takes equity stakes in startups and growing businesses to foster growth in companies that will shape the financial institutions of the future. Follow NAventures activities at nbc.ca/naventures.

About PrytekPrytek is a multinational technology group that builds deep technology and SaaS solutions through a BOPaaS (Business Operating Platform-as-a-Service) which is a combination of Deep Tech Solutions with Managed Services and Capital, providing the capability to lift out entire operations to create more efficient businesses of the future. Headed by industry experts, Prytek builds businesses and ecosystems in the Financial Services, Cyber & Tech Education and HR sectors.

Contact:Tom WoolfWoolf Media & Marketingtomw@woolfmedia.com