Recently, I had the privilege of appearing on a MoneyLive panel called “Generative AI in Action: Revolutionising Onboarding in Banking” in London.
Featured alongside me were three of my distinguished peers: Shashank Khare, Head of Group Strategy at Lloyds Banking Group, who has extensive expertise in shaping strategic direction within the banking industry; Vinita Ramtri, former Global Head of API Standards and Governance at HSBC, is renowned for her deep understanding of API standards and their role in driving innovation; and James Longstaff, Vice President of the Innovation Network at Deutsche Bank, is recognised for his contributions to fostering a culture of innovation within financial institutions.
Each of us represented a different perspective and on how generative AI is revolutionising onboarding in banking. It was a fascinating discussion, and I’ve compiled some key highlights below.
Playing in a new paradigm
Vinita, who is a firm believer in the advantage of banking incumbents, highlighted how machine learning has already enriched the client experience. Shashank spoke about emphasising the potential impact of AI on consumer behaviour, noting how ChatGPT has become—in the span of just a few months—integrated into many consumers’ personal lives.
As banking use cases are deployed, customer demands and interactions will evolve, ushering in a new and exciting era of personalised, AI-driven experiences. Speaking on this theme, Longstaff described his vision of the future where AI is an omnipresent force in business, transforming how we interact with data and serve clients.
The focus of the conversation then shifted to identifying patterns and leveraging AI to streamline processes—for example, automatically extracting information from identity documents.
The changing onboarding benchmark
Shashank identified four key areas where AI will drive massive change: affordability, enhancing customer service, boosting productivity, and combating fraud. For her part, Vinita spoke about the power of combining various technologies, with Google Copilot as a top example, to unlock massive use cases.
The challenge, she noted, lies in breaking down silos and fostering collaboration across departments. Change takes time within large legacy banks, but as with the evolution of accountants’ roles, AI will augment rather than replace human expertise. Speaking on this very topic, I highlighted the importance of ensuring fast but secure user experiences, especially leveraging facial biometrics in onboarding to counter deep fake attacks as well as offering more self sufficient customer servicing.
Risk, regulation, and respect
IMO, the future of onboarding in banking lies in embracing the power of generative AI. It goes without saying that AI-powered onboarding offers a number of benefits, including speed and accuracy. The use of this technology can address other issues as well, like reducing false positives in anti-money laundering (AML) processes.
It is essential to remember, however, that humans are the ones building machine learning systems, and these developers must therefore ensure ethical considerations and accountability. Well thought-out government and industry regulation is crucial as well, but given the breakneck speed with which AI technology is evolving, governments are having to play catch-up across the globe.
As the banking industry moves forward in the AI-powered future, striking the right balance between achieving full automation through machine learning and managing the development process responsibly, while ensuring great customer experience, will be the differentiator between successful and struggling banks.
About the post:
Images are generative AI-created. Prompt: Astronaut riding surfboard, skateboard, snowboard. Tools: Craiyon (fka DALL-E Mini), ChatGPT.
About the author:
Russ Cohn is IDVerse’s GM for the EMEA region. He has over 20 years of experience delivering successful growth strategies in the online media, SaaS, c-commerce, and data-driven technology industries. Cohn brings a deep understanding supporting international technology companies and has a passion for marketing development, startup growth, and financial services.
