Announcing a Collaboration between LINE Fukuoka and the Bank of Fukuoka to Prevent the Spread of COVID-19 A newly released feature lets people check bank branch congestion information in real time on LINE
LINE Fukuoka Corporation (“LINE Fukuoka”; Location: Hakata Ward, Fukuoka; Representative Director, President, and Chief Executive Officer: Noritaka Ochiai) is pleased to announce a collaboration with the Bank of Fukuoka, Ltd. (“Bank of Fukuoka”; Location: Chuo Ward, Fukuoka; Representative Director and President: Takashige Shibato) to add a feature that lets bank customers check the congestion of bank branches to the Bank of Fukuoka LINE Official Account. Available as of today (June 11), the new feature is aimed at preventing the spread of COVID-19 and improving convenience for bank customers.
Easily access up-to-date congestion information while on the go with the Bank of Fukuoka LINE Official Account
Searching for the branch you want to use by name or your current location/area on the Bank of Fukuoka LINE Official Account will link you to that branch’s page on the Bank of Fukuoka website. There you will see one of three congestion levels (e.g. “Not crowded,” “Crowded,” or “Very crowded”) as well as the latest information on how many people are currently in line¹.
It is now easier to avoid times when the bank is busy, or go to a different branch that is not busy, because you can look up congestion information easily.
¹ Information is updated every three minutes.
<Getting congestion information>
1. Select “Branch congestion information” (支店の混雑状況) from the account’s top menu.
2. Search by branch name
Select “Search by branch name” (”支店名”で探す) as your search criteria (検索方法を選んでください), tap the keyboard icon at the bottom left of the screen, and then enter your branch name in the text box. A list of branches with similar names will be displayed.
3. Search by current location or area
You can see the congestion information for branches near you by choosing “Search by Current Location/Area” (”現在地/エリア”で探す) as your search criteria. From this screen, you can also search for specific branches in each area.
Proposal to utilize LINE in order to make existing congestion information more useful
In its collaborations with private businesses and local governments, LINE Fukuoka strives to deliver the information that its partners provide to their users in forms that are easier to utilize and more helpful using the LINE communication tool, which has 84 million domestic daily active users.
The Bank of Fukuoka has offered congestion information for each of its branches on their homepage since 2016. LINE Fukuoka proposed and created the new feature to deliver this information (which is a part of the “new normal” of avoiding close contact) more efficiently to users through the bank’s LINE Official Account.
This collaboration was driven by efforts to prevent the spread of COVID-19, but moving forward we plan to continue working together by utilizing our respective technologies, knowledge, and a shared sense of innovation to meet the needs of Fukuoka City’s residents, making their daily lives richer and more convenient.
