#Artificial #intelligence, machine learning, and compliance were some of the topics that dominated day 1 of #fintech conference Data Disrupt, taking place in New York. The panel “Consumer Finance: Fighting #Fraud with Fire” brought together three fintech companies, who discussed different methods of combating fraud. AI and ML play undeniably large roles in fighting financial […]
Bank Innovation
EXCLUSIVE— #Banks need to focus on fixing all of the little #problems humans encounter in daily life, rather trying to sell more mortgages and credit cards to their users, Tom Blomfield, CEO of UK neobank #Monzo, said today in an online Q&A. Banks need to focus on “#real, #human problems,” Blomfield wrote, in response to […]
Bank Innovation
These are exactly the sort of words that would make you launch your phone into the nearest river, if they had been uttered by Siri. Fortunately, they are the fictional words of HAL 9000, the sentient #artificial #intelligence system in the 1968 Stanley Kubrick film, A Space Odyssey: 2001. It told the story of a mission to Jupiter and the gradual realisation of the #human crew that the perfect piece of AI designed to help them, was in fact fallible, and plotting against them to preserve its existence.
We don’t appear to have come much further in our collective sentiment towards trusting AI. The term “killer robots” has been splashed across the press headlines quite a bit recently, with some heavyweight names behind them, highlighting the potential dangers of using AI #technology in warfare. Some of these warnings around the ethical usage of AI are undoubtedly justified. How do you prevent AI from learning bad characteristics as well as good? It doesn’t necessarily need to be as dramatic as the use of AI in war. It could be as simple as AI learning some of the sadly still intrinsic bias in society, such as that boys wear blue and girls wear pink. The stock archive this technology is likely to learn from has been written by humans. And humans have prejudices, fears, and ideas that they want to promote. AI may not be able to help learning some of these, and apportioning blame to the technology would be a mistake, but they could still have an impact on the service provided to us.
Ethical issues aside, nervousness around AI in the workplace is much closer to home, and again in many ways, there is justification for some jitters from employees. Technology has a history of replacing humans in the #workforce—and the initial stages of this can be painful. Printing presses, weaving machines, mechanised farming, automated production lines, to name a few that have disrupted the workforce across industries. AI in banking could undoubtedly do the same if deployed without a long-term, sustainable plan from #banks.
In our upcoming series of reports on AI in financial services, Accenture looks at the potential advantages and pitfalls of embracing AI in banking, capital markets and insurance.
“People x Process x Data = AI” is our view on the success of AI in the workplace. The process and data side we will come back to another time—but an equally important part of AI are the “people” that this technology will work alongside. Many have years of experience, most of which will not be written down for an AI colleague to pick up and assimilate into its own bank of knowledge. The importance of people is particularly significant in banking, where interaction between the bank and customer is still of vital importance to most, and must become a priority. Fifty-three percent of customers still go into their branch once a month or more. Customers like and want the reassurance of being able to speak to a person.
That is not to say that many would not be happy with a “phygital” blend of interaction with their bank. But if this is to be a success, then the workforce needs to be ready and able to use this technology. And with 30 percent of banking executives unsure that their current workforce has the necessary skills and experience to use AI technology to its optimum, there is cause for concern that the rollout of this technology could pose a problem for banks.
For it to be a success, a fully detailed proof of concept should be in place, with an inventory of the workforce skillset being of primary importance, before any decisions are made on how and where to use AI. Easier said than done? It needn’t be. Some simple “best practice” steps should help this along. To name a few:
Maybe the ethics of using AI is less around whether there is a risk it will learn our worst traits, and more around what our intentions are from using it. If it is just to slash the costs of the workforce, then employers are missing a trick, and could find themselves on the receiving end of public and regulatory disapproval. Their employees have something AI cannot learn: empathy and understanding of human nature. Both of which are vital in a customer-facing service, and which in its current format AI cannot provide on its own, meaning a combined AI/human workforce is necessary to get the best from this technology. The future is bright; the future is still human.
The post ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE: AUGMENTING THE HUMAN WORKFORCE appeared first on Accenture Banking Blog.
Betterment users will now be able to seek advice from the world’s largest independent financial #robo-advisers through the company’s #mobile app. Today, the New York-based Betterment added a new messaging feature to their mobile app. This feature allows users to get specialized financial advice from licensed experts. Experts can offer advice on subjects like portfolio […]
Bank Innovation
Machine learning and artificial intelligence have made waves in the lending space recently, but #human underwriters are by far not out of the picture. That’s according to #OnDeck’s Chief Financial Officer Howard Katzenberg. “What we want to do is be great at both the algorithmic and analytic part, as well as [maintain] a human element,” […]
Bank Innovation
For years, we’ve heard people proclaiming the demise of the bricks-and-mortar #bank branch, supposedly swept #away by customers’ mass-migration to online and—increasingly—mobile alternatives. But as our latest UK banking consumer survey—Beyond Banking—confirms, there’s still plenty of life in the bank branch. Put simply, customers still want to be able to visit branches and experience the face-to-face contact they enable.
In fact, a major theme of our findings is how highly customers still value #human interaction, and how much they want to have a conversation with a real live person about their major financial decisions. What’s more, this desire isn’t limited to older people. Quite the reverse: As our research demonstrates, the younger you are, the more likely you are to be a regular user of a branch.
Given that this trend is coinciding in with an ongoing shift by younger consumers towards more innovative channels—the likes of wearables, social media and instant messaging—it’s possible that the continued strong usage of branches is a transitory effect. But our study gives no indication of that. And the findings will certainly give #banks pause for thought as they plan out future strategies for their physical branch networks.
So, what does the research tell us? As Figure 1 shows, while use of mobile banking services is surging, branch usage by all customers remains remarkably consistent year on year—and indeed in 2016 edged up to its highest level since this research began in 2010.
A breakdown of the 2016 findings by age (see Figure 2) reveals what many might regard as a surprising outcome—with millennials being by far the heaviest users of branches, tapering down to OAPs as the lightest. While this age profile is probably affected by factors such as millennials’ higher numbers of financial transactions and the fact that it’s easier for them to physically get to branches, the correlation between youth and higher branch usage is clear and undeniable.
And what are customers using branches for? The answer—as Figure 3 shows—is activities like seeking advice, accessing services and fixing issues. Indeed, branches far outstrip all other channels for advice and service access.
What’s more, the use of branches for research and advice is becoming more frequent, with a significant step-up since last year in monthly interactions for these activities (Figure 4). And a comparison with historic data from previous years shows that self-service initiatives in branches are gaining traction, underlining their evolving role as service hubs.
All of this leads us to the million-dollar question: What kind of banking model do customers actually want? The answer, as Figure 5 shows, is a blend of physical and digital channels—a proposition they find much more attractive than a pure digital bank with no branches.
The message is clear: Banks should create strategies that accept and optimise branches’ ongoing future role, while also looking to harness ongoing digital innovation to deliver better service experiences at lower cost. But the shift towards computer-generated services for customers cannot be at the expense of access to human services at their local branch.
In my next blog on our UK banking consumer survey, I’m #going to look at the findings on a key focus area for digital innovation in banking: so-called ‘#robo-advice’. Stay tuned.
[1-5] Source: UK findings of Accenture 2017 Global Banking Distribution & Marketing Consumer Study—Beyond Digital
The post Why bank branches—and human contact—are not going away any time soon appeared first on Accenture Banking Blog.
By now, traditional investors are familiar with the threat coming from #roboadvisors. The fees and barriers to entry are lower, and millennials can do it all from their smartphones. But roboadvisors face considerable challenges of their own. Among other issues, standalone roboadvisors have steep customer acquisition costs. “Standalone roboadvisors doRead More
Bank Innovation
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