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.
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.
The wealth-management industry is in the midst of some seismic changes at present. The traditional channels through which money has been managed and advice dispensed are now being decisively disrupted. And as a result, those who are being affected the most—from multi-billion-dollar hedge funds to retail investors managing their own portfolios—are now operating in an almost entirely new landscape.
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.
Digitally native customers are driving banks to jump into the future by embracing technological breakthroughs such as artificial intelligence, machine learning and robotic process automation. And in the process, banks are discovering the many advantages of these innovations, from cutting down on costly human errors to improving everything from fraud management, operational efficiency and trading. As they progress through their digital evolutions, many are reinventing themselves for the better.
If last year was any indication of what financial markets will look like in 2019, we are in for a very bumpy ride. Last December alone, the Dow Jones Industrial Average fell and rose more than 8 percent as finance experts struggled to make heads or tails of a bizarre political climate, unsteady interest rates and global tariffs.