Against a global backdrop of emerging technologies and ever-changing relationships between businesses and consumers, one thing is clear: leaders in the finance and banking industries will increasingly look to artificial
According to a 2017 Forrester report, the widening gap between financial firms that embrace digital growth and business transformation powered by technology and those institutions that continue to do business in traditional ways will continue to widen.
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As leading banks choose to experiment with new and emerging tech as an opportunity to engage with consumers in unexpected ways, conventional banks and financial institutions will be less able to compete on the global stage.
It may seem obvious that businesses choosing to leverage predictive technologies, artificial intelligence and mobile applications will be better able to serve their customers and ultimately deliver results. But the truth is many businesses are reluctant to experiment with new technologies — and those who are investing may not be achieving their desired results.
“Our research shows the global banking and finance sector spends about $85B annually on digital technologies. We estimate 67 percent of this spend is wasted," said Tiger Tyagarajan, CEO and President of Genpact.
However, according to the Genpact Research Institute, there are four key tactics the banking and finance sector can implement to ensure return on investment in the digital space.
Leverage analytics the smart way
The way businesses function, the decisions they make, and how they serve clients in the best way possible thrives on access to information. While data analytics is not new, access to smart data is a direct line to the customer.
However, an intuitive approach to this data is crucial. Particularly when it comes to harnessing this information to identify growing trends and user behavior, uncovering new insights and fine-tuning operations to make smarter decisions and meet business goals. Ultimately, it takes more than just relying on the tech to make decisions. It means leveraging this information in a way that is truly actionable and inspired by the consumers themselves.
From mobile-first to AI-first
In almost every way imaginable, we are now in the age of business reinvention. It’s less of an evolution, and more of a revolution in the way modern banking is done. According to Tyagarajan: “successful companies embrace the digital disruption and are willing to destroy a business model to create a new business model.”
Banks are already using AI to streamline their formerly manual processes for tracking data, saving time and maximising cost benefits. The new horizon? Leveraging AI beyond internal processes to inform consumer interaction. As the finance world grows and develops with this technology, the next step is machine learning that changes and adapts to improve fraud detection and provides smarter customer service by conversing with users every day. By using AI to inform both consumer-facing and internal processes, the potential return on investment can be huge.
Integrating customer facing and back end of business
Through artificial intelligence, the front end of business, which consumers interact with daily, and the back end, the internal workings of the finance institution itself, is becoming one holistic entity. Finance companies can no longer simply promise an experience - they need to deliver on their promise within the same interaction, while giving consumers a transparent view of the entire process.
Lowering costs and increasing ROI
Artificial intelligence has the benefits of engaging with customers in intelligent ways that offer significant cost savings, by providing smarter decision-making based on customer behavior patterns. Whether it’s new chatbot technology or behind-the-scenes interactions with marketing communications, AI can assist in the creation of customized, intelligent products in increasingly efficient ways. These products and services can even implement AI themselves, with more intuitive interactions including speech functionality or providing advice for personal finance management - at a moment’s notice.
Using open architecture and a modular approach, Genpact deliver digital products and consulting services, powered by the Genpact Cora AI-based platform, that connects with both legacy systems and new technologies. The result: accelerated development times, higher ROI, and greater flexibility. Combined with an overarching governance layer which mitigate risks, businesses can get the most out of their journey to using artificial intelligence in newer and smarter ways.
Whether financial institutions are focusing on risk management, customer experience or behind-the-scenes operations within the business, investments in technology like Genpact’s digital platforms and services can, and will, continue to drive efficient returns on investment and have the potential to reinvent the world of finance.
