The game of cat and mouse between the regulators and banks against money launderers has now moved to a new level – all thanks to the emergence of AI and machine learning technologies. AI and machine learning technologies have been around for some time, but have recently started coming into prominence in the world of financial services.
There are times when no one wants to see history repeat itself, and that’s the case among today’s investors in technology stocks. Some fear that the dot-com bubble burst of 2000 may repeat itself 20 years later. Although some tech stocks may be overvalued, the flourishing Fourth Industrial Revolution displays no signs of running out of steam any time soon. Caution is advised but not panic.
Customers today are leery of sharing with businesses too much of what they consider to be one of their most valuable assets: their personal data. And it’s no wonder, as data breaches abound. Fortunately for banks in the United Kingdom, they rank more highly than other businesses in customer estimation of data guardianship, according to recent research. How can businesses across sectors bolster customer trust in their data handling?
Although banks have been in financial services longer than anyone else, they have a thing or two to learn about customer service from the mammoths in the retail sector. Retail subscription services are taking off, promising to deliver combinations of products conformed to the needs and likes of customers, whose preferences are well known from data analyses. What similar steps can banks adopt in their drive to augment customer satisfaction?
Many of us struggle with the concept of carrying on a rewarding conversation with a chatbot, but recent improvements in artificial intelligence are making this technology increasingly more valuable to banks around the world. From helping banks to offer targeted customer products and services, to tightening the security of credit transactions, to cutting costs while improving employee engagement, AI’s contributions to making customer service better are too important to ignore.
There are enough new terms floating around banking to make one’s head spin, and along comes greenfield bank. This refers to the growing trend among incumbent banks to create standalone digital banks that are as agile and innovative as the fintechs and neobanks. After considering how difficult and expensive it is proving to be for banks to break out of their legacy-infrastructure moulds, this approach makes a lot of sense.
Financial markets are among the fastest-moving markets around. People and organizations need to know where their money is, what it’s doing for them, and whether it’s at risk, on a moment-by-moment basis. Yet banks and other financial services organizations are often well-established, even venerable, with their names and reputations a vital tool in their ability to prosper.
Chief financial officers’ talents are too often lost to mundane, routine tasks that do not add much value to their important positions as their CEOs’ main advisers. Fortunately, technological innovations are removing much of the burden, freeing CFOs to fulfill their roles as prime movers and shakers, guiding their companies to new heights. Cloud technology, enterprise resource planning and artificial intelligence are proving to be time-saviors for today’s busy CFOs.
With all of the new developments in banking these days, it’s easy to lose touch with what really matters: the customer experience. To enhance their customers’ journeys and earn their loyalty, research shows that bank staff need to develop effective communication channels, listen and then learn what matters most to customers. What’s important to them may not be precisely what bank employees expect.
Banks once were the movers and shakers of the financial world, but in the aftermath of the global financial crisis, mired in new regulations, many have lagged behind rising fintechs in technological innovation. What fintechs have discovered is artificial intelligence’s considerable contribution to meeting customer needs and maximizing operational efficiencies. Now that the regulatory climate has eased, banks are catching up and employing carefully implemented AI to help them achieve their customer-centric goals.