• Isa Goksu, UK CTO at Globant


• 21.03.2023 09:46 am

1. Can you give an overview of how AI can create strategic value for a business, especially fintech?

There are many ways AI can create strategic value for any business, particularly for FinTechs:

• Process Automation: AI can help automate repetitive tasks and processes, reducing the need for human labour. This could include things like automated customer service interactions, especially after multi-modal large language models like ChatGPT, but also things like automated loan approvals, automated document processing, etc.

• CX Improvements: CX improvements can easily be made by providing fast, personalized responses and recommendations. This could include features like personalized product recommendations, interactive fast and tailored real-time Q/A systems and real-time product configurations, robo-advisors, etc are just a few areas that can easily benefit from AI.

• Business Insights: Large volumes of data, or data require integrations with both modern and legacy stacks require analyzing data and finding patterns to gain strategic insights. This could include things like identifying customer churn patterns, forecasting market trends, or detecting fraudulent activity. Gaining insights like this can help FinTechs make better strategic decisions.

• Scale Operations: AI is good at finding patterns and also repeating tasks that could be error-prone for humans. Operations are another area Fintechs can benefit from leveraging AI significantly, particularly in handling large volumes of data or interactions.

• Productivity Boosts: One area which is overlooked these days is how AI can help improve employee efficiency and productivity. This can go all the way from capturing meeting notes, compiling a summary of various types of research, preparing a deck, and generating text/image/audio/video from natural language are just a few examples where efficiency gains are remarkably large.

The specific applications will vary based on a company's domain or segment they target, or the products they offer. But in general, AI has the potential to deliver significant strategic benefits for businesses.

2. How can AI be integrated into a fintech's existing processes and systems?

This could be many things. As I mentioned above, all those areas are a way to integrate with existing processes. However, there are many more use cases specific to the industry segment that Fintech is operating such as lending decisions, Name Entity Recognition out of legal contracts, fraud detection, anomaly detection, etc.

3. What kind of AI technologies are currently available and popular among fintech, and what are their respective advantages and disadvantages?

As my observations in the market suggest, the highest adoption is around robotic process automation, chatbots, natural language processing (NLP) and computer vision. These technologies are being used in various use cases, and investments are being made in these fields. The advantages of automation through RPA, NLP and CV are significant, as they reduce time to market, remove friction and improve customer experience. Chatbots, NLP and NLU are also great ways to enhance customer experience by transforming mechanical interactions into a more human-like experience. Additionally, these technologies are also beneficial for cost reduction and improved accuracy, as well as improved decision-making and better customer insights.

4. What are some of the challenges that businesses face when implementing AI technologies, and how can these challenges be overcome?

The proliferation of AI marketplaces has created a highly competitive and dynamic environment, making it difficult for businesses to determine where to invest and adopt. Building a successful AI strategy is a challenging task and requires a great deal of expertise. I don’t think there is any right or wrong answer at the moment. We need to wait a bit more to see some maturity in the marketplace. However, to make the right decisions, executives need a trusted and sound advisor to provide guidance and support. Without this, businesses may be left behind in a rapidly changing landscape. Unless technology is their core competence, I’d suggest companies prioritize finding an experienced advisor to help navigate the complexities of AI adoption and ensure that their strategies are up to date with the latest market developments. Executives need people with the right business and technology mindset who follow trends actively.

5. How can AI be used to improve customer experience and increase customer satisfaction in the fintech sector (both B2B and B2C)?

In my experience with NPS and other customer satisfaction metrics, the majority of customers are happiest when their needs are addressed promptly and with an appropriate level of attention. To help streamline processes and increase customer satisfaction, AI technologies can be extremely beneficial. Automation can reduce costs, increase efficiency, and enable technologies like Natural Language Understanding, Transformers and Generative AI to remove cumbersome processes such as document processing, explain images or videos, perform voice stress analysis, provide the best advice and reasoning for a customer's situation, and more. These AI technologies can be a powerful tool for Fintechs to actively improve customer experience and satisfaction, as well as allow them to provide personalized, tailored experiences for their customers.

6. What are some of the ethical considerations that businesses need to take into account when using AI, and how can these be addressed?

When using AI, businesses need to take into account ethical considerations such as privacy, security, and fairness. To ensure that these are addressed, businesses should develop and implement policies that protect the privacy and security of customer data, ensure that AI-based systems are not biased, and provide transparent communication to customers about how their data is being used. Additionally, businesses should continuously monitor and evaluate AI-based systems to ensure they are performing as expected and to ensure compliance with ethical considerations.

7. How can fintechs ensure that their AI systems are transparent and trustworthy?

Well, this is a complex issue that has yet to be fully solved. However, policies to operate are a good start for any business. It is essential that these policies need to ensure all of the important customer issues from security and privacy to bias and discrimination.

To be completely transparent, we haven’t quite figured out how the source data can be stripped from any bias. It is one of the core reasons why we have a bias in the first place. We attempt to eliminate the bias by adopting practices such as making teams more inclusive and diverse.