RBC's new offering is set to be rolled out to all of its Canadian clients by the middle of this year.

Canada's largest lender is testing a new digital service that allows its clients to video chat with advisors in real time. 

Royal Bank of Canada's Toronto-based innovation lab has spawned MyAdvisor, an online platform that can connect clients to advisors, allowing both to view and adjust a “dashboard” that displays clients' savings and investment goals.

RBC, which is currently piloting the service in Ontario, is analyzing feedback from participants in order to craft a final version of the service before it is rolled out to clients nationwide. 

So far, the bank says that responses from clients have been positive and based on the results of the pilot, RBC plans to fully launch MyAdvisor across Canada by the middle of 2017.

“This is proving to be a very powerful financial advice experience for our clients, as they manage their financial goals using our digital capabilities and our advisors’ expertise,” said Michael Walker, vice-president and head, mutual funds distribution and financial planning. “MyAdvisor demonstrates what being a digitally-enabled relationship bank is all about, combining the convenience of digital access and the personalized advice of our advisors.”

RBC says advisors working with the program have been specially trained to work with the financial tools within the online advice platform. They are ready to meet through live video or phone, depending on the preference of clients when they schedule appointments. Clients and advisors see the same information onscreen and any adjustments made on either side are viewed in real time.

“In a digitally-connected world, MyAdvisor brings to life an exciting strategy that enables our clients to access financial advice and solutions and the support of an advisor,” said Kirk Dudtschak, executive vice-president, personal and commercial banking. “MyAdvisor enables greater connectivity for clients to the advice and solutions they want and allows our advisors to focus on what they do best – being there for our clients, when and where they need us.”

This is not the RBC’s first technology endeavor, however.

In 2015, the group introduced its mobile wallet, and the following year launched its mobile banking application, which now processes 60 per cent of all its financial transactions.