A missed EMI or a lapsed policy usually starts with a forgotten date, not an unwilling customer. A short, polite reminder call a few days before the due date solves most of it. The trouble is scale: a team that has to call thousands of customers every month spends its day on reminders instead of the customers who actually need help. This guide explains how lenders and insurers can make EMI reminder calls and renewal reminder calls with AI voice agents, in the customer’s own language, while keeping people in charge.
Why reminder calls work better than SMS alone
SMS reminders are cheap, but they are easy to ignore and many customers cannot read English comfortably. A phone call in the customer’s language gets attention, and the customer can ask a question on the spot: “Can I pay on Monday instead?” or “Which account will it be debited from?”. A call also gives you a result: answered, not answered or needs help.
How AI EMI reminder calls work
BitVoice AI Agents run on our own VEXYL Voice Gateway and the LiteBot AI platform. For reminder calls, the flow is simple:
- Prepare the list. Upload a CSV of your own customers who are due. Extra columns, such as name, loan or policy number, amount and due date, become fields the AI uses in the conversation.
- Write the script. The AI agent is set up with what to say, what it may answer, and when to hand over. It greets the customer by name, states the amount and due date, and answers simple questions such as payment options you have given it.
- Start the calls. The AI agent calls through your phone lines, connected to Voxdial or another IP PBX over SIP. You choose how many calls run at once, how many times to retry unanswered numbers, and you can pause and resume at any time.
- Hand over to a person. If the customer wants to talk to someone, disputes the amount or needs help, the AI transfers the call to your team.
- Review the results. Every call is logged with a transcript, and results can be sent to your own system through a webhook, so your team can follow up on the right customers.
In the customer’s language
BitVoice AI voice agents speak 22 Indian languages, and the caller can switch language mid-call: a customer who starts in English and moves to Hindi or Tamil is followed. Callers can also interrupt the agent, as they would with a person, without waiting for it to finish a sentence. For more on Indian language voice bots, read voice bots in Indian languages.
People first, AI for the routine
AI reminder calls do not replace your service team. They take the repetitive part off it:
| Task | Best handled by |
|---|---|
| Polite reminder before the due date | AI voice agent |
| Answering “when and how can I pay” | AI voice agent, using the answers you give it |
| A customer who disputes the amount | Your agent, after hand-over |
| Hardship, restructuring or complaints | Your agent |
| Inbound calls from customers | Your agents first, AI only when no agent is free |
On inbound calls the rule is the same as everywhere in Voxdial Contact Center: agents answer first, and the AI voice agent steps in only when no agent is free, then passes the caller back with a summary.
Follow up on WhatsApp
Some customers will not answer the phone. A WhatsApp message after an unanswered reminder call is a good second step. On the BitVoice WhatsApp Business API platform, your loan or policy system can send an approved template with the customer’s name, amount and due date through the HTTP API. If the customer replies with a question, the chat lands in the shared inbox, where a chatbot or an agent can answer it. Send templates only to customers who have agreed to receive WhatsApp messages from you.
Good practice for reminder calls
AI makes reminder calls easy to run, which makes discipline more important, not less:
- Call only your own customers about their own accounts or policies, never purchased lists.
- Keep to sensible hours. Start and pause reminder runs within daytime calling hours, and avoid Sundays and holidays unless the customer has agreed.
- Respect consent and opt-outs. If a customer asks not to be called, remove them from future lists.
- Be clear who is calling. The agent should name your institution at the start of every call.
- Keep the script polite and factual. A reminder is not a demand. Never use threatening or misleading language.
- Make hand-over easy. Any customer who asks for a person should reach one.
- Follow the rules that apply to you. Your compliance team should check that reminder calls meet the telecom and regulatory rules for your institution and your customers.
Self-hosted or cloud
BitVoice AI Agents can be self-hosted on your own servers, run in Docker, or used as a hosted service. Institutions that want call audio and transcripts to stay in-house can run them on-premise alongside an on-premise Voxdial system.
Where this fits
Reminder calls are one part of a financial services contact centre. For the rest, read call centre software for banks and NBFCs and see how BitVoice works with banks, NBFCs and insurers.
Want to hear an EMI reminder call in your customers’ language? Talk to BitVoice for a live demo.
FAQs
What are EMI reminder calls?
They are short calls to borrowers before an EMI is due, telling them the amount and due date and answering simple questions, so fewer payments are missed by mistake.
Can AI make EMI reminder calls in Indian languages?
Yes. BitVoice AI voice agents speak 22 Indian languages, use the customer’s name and due amount from your list, and follow the customer if they switch language mid-call.
What happens if a customer wants to talk to a person?
The AI agent transfers the call to your team. Disputes, hardship requests and complaints should always go to a person.
Can AI voice agents call insurance renewal reminders too?
Yes. The same set-up works for policy renewal reminders to your own customers, with the policy number and renewal date from your list.
