Technology Trends in the Financial Industry

Rapid advances in technology continue to transform the financial services industry at an unprecedented rate. From AI and blockchain applications to all-knew financial instruments (and not just cryptocurrency), the current climate is as historic as when the first paper currencies were issued to replace metal coinage in Stockholm in 1661.

Some of the largest tech trends happening right now include:

Advanced Personalization

On the outside, the increased ability to obtain deep levels of data about the personal accounts of clients makes a lot of people nervous. Banks and credit companies today have more information about their customers’ activities, including their social and browsing histories. However, by applying AI and big data tools, providers can implement the real-time multi-channel integration of this data to create highly personalized, one-to-one marketing experiences for customers that streamline their relationships with money.

If you believe in the power of using your finances to improve your life, then personalization of your information with your financial provider offers you greater power to take control of your finances.

RPA

That stands for Robotic Process Automation. Here again, many people view this as a double-edged sword in some ways. That’s because it means a lot of repetitive jobs once handled by humans are now being done by robots. These include tasks like customer verification, onboarding, risk assessment, reporting, data analysis, and security checks that will be handled by AI robots or systems.

Proponents of RPA for banks and others say it should be viewed as an exciting opportunity to free people from mundane and repetitive jobs so that they can pursue more fulfilling work in the financial industry.

Biometrics

Doing away with wallets — and even cash and credit cards — has been on the radar for some time. What we’re talking about here is using the human body as the vehicle to conduct transactions, such as buying and selling. These include using fingerprint verification, facial recognition software, retinal scanning, and more. Is anyone ready to have a chip implanted in the wrist or finger? The resistance to the latter is likely to be enormous, but biometrics of several forms are already making leaps forward.

Fintech to Bank Integration

Fintech (financial technology) is arguable the hottest sector on the planet. From payment apps to cryptocurrency, new fintech models seem to emerge every day to change the way people interact with money. The coordination of cutting-edge fintech apps with traditional banking is the next phase of evolution for finance in general.

To learn more, please see David C. Branch’s finance blog!