The 7 Biggest Technology Trends To Disrupt Banking & Financial Services In 2020

Even though banking and financial services have been slower than other industries to adopt the latest technology into their operations, financial organizations are trying to catch up by incorporating artificial intelligence, blockchain, and other technology to benefit their customers, remain competitive and improve business results. Here are the 7 biggest technology trends that will disrupt banking and financial services in 2020.

Artificial Intelligence (AI)

Although banking and financial services tend to be slower to adopt new technologies, a PricewaterhouseCooper study confirms the majority of financial services decision-makers are investing in artificial intelligence (AI)—52 percent of executives confirmed they are making “substantial” investments in AI while 72 percent believe it will be a business advantage. One thing that will likely make the rest believe in artificial intelligence’s potential for the industry are the cost savings that are expected to be $447 billion by 2023.

So, how do financial institutions use artificial intelligence? The most visible way the banking industry uses artificial intelligence (AI) is for customer service from chatbots and robots. Many of the largest financial institutions, such as Bank of America and JPMorgan Chase, use AI to streamline customer service. Another customer-facing way AI is deployed is to facilitate mobile banking that allows 24/7 access for consumers to conduct banking operations. AI is also instrumental in the way financial institutions enhance security and prevent and detect fraud. The technology helps financial institutions with risk management and lending decisions and is foundational in making other technology such as big data analytics, robotic process automation, and voice interfaces work.

Blockchain

Blockchain technology, first used in the cryptocurrency Bitcoin, is a distributed database that can keep track of transactions in a verifiable and permanent way. The Harvard Business Review predicts that blockchain will disrupt banks the way the internet disrupted media. Blockchains are transparent, highly secure, and are relatively cheap to operate. As more financial institutions realize how blockchain can improve security, save money, and improve customer satisfaction, more will adopt the technology.

Blockchain can support banking in several ways. Bitcoin showed how it can be used for payments, but it can also be transformative in the way our capital markets work by tokenizing traditional bonds, stocks, and other assets and putting them on public blockchains. Blockchains would remove the gatekeepers and third parties in the loans and credit system while also making it more secure to borrow money and lowering interest rates. Blockchain could…