AI and banking: no more ‘system is offline’ excuse

Artificial intelligence (AI) has not had the greatest rep in society with many who are outside of the tech-intense world expressing fear and scepticism around it. We mostly have Hollywood to blame for that. Movies like M3GAN, Terminator and Upgrade have given us enough to be paranoid about.

Will AI eventually corrupt society and lead to its demise? Unlikely. Will it come to take over jobs? Well, now there’s a great possibility of a fear materialising. Industries like mining and manufacturing are seeing automation in operations gaining momentum at a rapid rate and according to a study by techinjury.net, in 2022, over 4 million industrial robots were introduced into operations worldwide.

ALSO READ: SA bank customers still prefer human interaction for problem solving – study

Finance Online has reported that automation will displace 85 million jobs globally by 2025.

But this, according to experts, should not necessarily be a fear. AI is just a tool – a tool that has likely been designed to improve time efficiency and accuracy of a specific task, but one that also still needs to be operated by a human.

Ctrl Robotics’ Nikhil Ranchod says: “Society should not resist AI as a tool because it has the potential to augment human capabilities, increase efficiency and productivity, and provide solutions to some of our most pressing problems. Resisting AI would mean foregoing these potential benefits and falling behind in an increasingly AI-driven world.”

“AI is here to make our lives easier,” says Leo Chen, President of Huawei Sub-Saharan Africa, speaking at the Huawei Intelligent Finance Summit for Africa 2023.

Chen alluded to the concept of Smart Finance – a movement by financial institutions that will see greater implementation of AI in operations. This is set to improve on customer experience. But what sort of changes can banking customers expect in the future with all this new technology?

Immediate transactions 24/7/365

Waiting for funds to clear could be a thing of the past. By automating certain checks, banking will soon be able to process payments almost immediately, cutting back on the downtime it takes to ensure it is not a fraudulent transaction.

ALSO READ: Is AI the future of art?

Non-human bankers

Banking advise may no longer come from an actual human person anymore. This is because banks will soon adopt the technology to analyse a person’s financial profile by sorting through data provided, and provide calculated advised based on this data.  

It will likely be similar to Chatbots like Nedbank’s Enbi and Absa’s Abby. Though a little less static and a lot more tailored in its responses. Think ChatGPT.

The system [will no longer be] ‘offline’

Yes, this line which has annoyed South Africans for past decade or so will soon be a thing of the past. Banks are quickly moving towards cloud-based systems. According to Harrison Li, CTO of Huawei Cloud, Southern Africa Region, Huawei launched its Huawei Cloud’s all-scenario smart finance solution to meet the news demand for cloud in Africa.

He noted: “With the deepening of digital transformation in the financial and banking sectors worldwide, the “all-round cloudification” of financial services has become a trend”.

Biometric applications and payments

NatWest has enabled customers to remotely open accounts with a selfie, making it the first major UK bank to do so. The biometric technology is powered by AI and developed in collaboration with software partner HooYu. It works by matching an applicant’s selfie in real-time to an official photo identification document, such as a passport or government-issued ID card. This will soon be adopted by major banks in SA.

AI has become an indispensable tool for the banking industry, offering numerous benefits to both financial institutions and customers alike. It has enhanced the efficiency, speed, accuracy, and security of banking operations, while enabling banks to provide personalised and innovative services to their customers. As AI technology continues to evolve and become more sophisticated, it is expected to play an even greater role in shaping the future of banking.