5 technologies disrupting banking by 2023

On By mehranmuslimiblogIn AI, Banks, Big Data, Digital Innovation, Fintech1 Comment

Over the next five years banking is going to change dramatically and will be nothing like we know it today. The changes will come due to technology and will provide financial institutions with both opportunities and challenges.

The global recession put a spotlight on banks; these institutions were largely responsible for the near-collapse of economies and although they have weathered the storm, people’s trust in them has not been restored.

Out of the failure of financial institutions came the bitcoin protocol and blockchain technology. This was followed by the arrival of fintech startups and neobanks, both of which threaten the consumer account monopoly enjoyed by retail banks, which is referred to as ‘legacy’ in the financial media. According to various consultancies, new players could capture up to a third of incumbent banks’ revenues in the next 2–3 years. If banks don’t respond to this, they are in danger of disappearing.

However, there is good news for the traditional banks: the new technologies that are threatening the banking industry also present significant opportunities. They can leverage big data and advanced analytics to improve customer experience, as well as build trust, loyalty and revenues. Dan Cohen, SVP at Atos, said: “Banks are at a crossroads. Continuous fintech innovation and new technologies such as blockchain are disrupting the market. While it creates threats, it also opens multiple opportunities for financial services to reinvent themselves and thrive.”

Here are five of the technologies that will advance fintechs and potentially cause more disruption in the banking sector, unless the banks are agile enough to incorporate them.

1. A hybrid cloud

Cloud computing tech has gone mainstream in banks pretty fast. It was found that at least 75% of bankers said their most successful cloud initiatives had already achieved expansion into new industries, creation of new revenue streams, and expansion of their product/services portfolio.

2. APIs

The combination of open platform banking and open APIs will change the entire banking ecosystem in its current state. In this scenario, the bank will serve as a platform, on top of which third-party companies can build their own applications using the bank’s data.

3. Robotic process automation

Robotic process automation (RPA) has helped banks and credit unions accelerate growth by executing pre-programmed rules across a range of structured and unstructured data.

4. Instant payments

Consumer demand for instant payments is on the increase. With instant payments, more transactions will be made digitally instead of in cash, which means that payments will become less expensive and more user friendly.

5. Artificial Intelligence (AI)

The benefits of AI in banks and credit unions are widespread, reaching back office operations, compliance, customer experience, product delivery, risk management and marketing to name a few

5 AI trends in 2019

On By mehranmuslimiblogIn AI, Big Data, FintechLeave a comment

As the use of Artificial Intelligence (AI) has grown in 2018, we can expect to see even stronger growth in the technology in 2019. One of the reasons it is bound to increase its presence in our lives is that it makes life easier, whether it is chatbots in business or Alexa in the home. According to Analytic Insightsand Forrester Research, in 2019 we will also “see the rise of new digital workers with an increased competition for data professionals with AI skills.” But, what else can we expect from AI next year?

More chatbots and virtual assistants

We will see more advanced use of AI virtual assistants on websites to answer customers’ queries and provide customer service assistance. For example, companies will create virtual agents with a face and personality to match to handle complex tasks to drive business, like, Autodesk’s virtual agent Ava has a female face with a voice that speaks emulating the company’s brand.

Improved speech recognition

Alexa may have started the trend, but in 2019 voice-activated services are going to be even bigger business. Already Sony, Hisense and TiVo have unveiled TVs that can be controlled by voice, and even home appliance makers such as Delta, Whirlpool and LG have added Alexa’s voice recognition skills to assist people control everything in their homes.

Smart recommendations

When we shop online we are already inundated with a series of recommendations about what to buy next based on our previous purchases. This is going to get bigger in 2019, with recommendations based on “sentiment analysis” as well as your search history.

Advanced image recognition

We can expect some is changes here in 2019. Don’t be surprised if there is image recognition to detect licence plates, diagnose diseases, and permit photo analysis for a range of verifications.

Cyber security

In 2019, expect artificial intelligence to be more powerful in fighting off cyber threats and prevent potential hackers. Companies including Darktrace have deployed and machine learning technologies to detect online enemies’ in real-time and identify cyber threats early on, and so prevent them spreading.

What’s going to happen to the blockchain in 2019?

On By mehranmuslimiblogIn Bitcoin, BlockchainLeave a comment

The coming year promises to be quite an exciting one for blockchain technology, so what are some of the experts predicting will take place in 2019?

Brent Jaciow, Head of Blockchain Affairs at Utopia Music, a blockchain based music streaming platform says:

“Throughout 2019, we will continue to see an increased use of AI and machine learning to improve customer experiences, whether it is the use of enhanced chatbots to facilitate quicker client assistance, or the use of imaging recognition software to provide hyper-targeted marketing based on age, sex, and even temperament.”

Robertas Visinskis, Founder of Mysterium Network, says:

“As 2018 draws to a close, a highlight for blockchain is how the wider space succeeded in differentiating itself from strictly being associated with cryptocurrency. In 2019, we will see privacy and personal data protection trends continuing to grow in importance. “

Nicolas Gilot, Co-CEO of Ultra, a blockchain-based, game publishing platform, says:

Looking ahead to 2019, I believe we will reap the rewards of work put in by industry players, teams, and communities over the past two years. Blockchain technology has a bright future but the road to get there will be full of twists and turns. As with any new and emerging technology, there will be plenty of ups and downs before we see mainstream adoption of the tech, but I believe blockchain will change industries as we know them — everything from finance and banking, to retail, education, healthcare, and entertainment.”

Gabriele Giancola, CEO and Co-founder of qiibee, the Swiss loyalty token protocol helping brands around the world run their loyalty programs on the blockchain, says:

“Moving into 2019, and further down the line, I believe we will begin to see a separation between hype and reality. We are slowly but surely beginning to witness the gradual disruption of other industries such as retail, education, healthcare, loyalty, banking, and finance. Companies are experimenting with new functions of the technology on a daily basis, and the wide range of applications for blockchain is beginning to emerge.”

Vladislav Dramaliev, Head of Digital Marketing at æternity, the open-source smart contracts blockchain protocol, says:

“In 2019, I expect we will see the first commercial (i.e., consumer-facing) applications of public blockchains go live next year, and the general public will finally experience the benefits that blockchain can bring.”

Casey Kuhlman, CEO and Co-founder of Monax, says:

“My prediction for 2019 is that the industry will shift its focus more toward the problems that blockchain technology can solve. Taking just one example, the advent of smart contracts offer a technical basis on which scalable, technically enabled legal products can be built and delivered. In 2019, my hope is that we apply the technology not only to the legal sector but to the myriad of industries that can and should benefit from its transparency, speed, efficiency, and reliability.”

The case for a blockchain Universal ID

On By mehranmuslimiblogIn BlockchainLeave a comment

Governments have been floating the idea of a universal ID around for a while, but haven’t come to any conclusions. The case for having such a thing as a universal ID is that it would increase national security, help with counter terrorism and prevent, or at least deter, identity theft. This would all make people’s lives easier it is argued.

Naturally there are problems with the concept. There are countries like the United Kingdom that don’t believe in a national ID, and in countries that do have ID databases, like the USA, the information is held in a centralised national database, which may not be as secure as they should be.

To give you an example: in the first six months of 2018 there were 668 data breaches in the USA in sectors including banking, business, education, government/military and health care. There are weaknesses in the databases that leave them exposed to cyber attacks. And, as the cyber criminals become more sophisticated, the national ID database’s security systems simply don’t seem to be able to keep up with them. So, imagine how fortunate the cybercriminals would feel if there were a universal ID database set up on a centralised system — it would be the biggest gift they ever received.

Blockchain solves the data breach problem

The most obvious solution is the use of blockchain technology. By using a distributed ledger, each person’s ID information could be held in a decentralised system that is more secure, because it uses cryptography. For example, a wide range of identity documents could be stored on the blockchain in a single place — let’s call it an identity wallet — and each wallet could have its own form of encryption. The information would be decentralised on the distributed ledger, which makes it far harder for cybercriminals to get access to it.; it would certainly make it much harder for them to undertake the kind of mass scale identity theft attacks that they are capable of right now, because they would have to hack into each individual wallet.

Using the blockchain would also give us a s citizens more control over our data, because we would have the ability to update out data in a single space and decide what data we share with certain individuals.

Companies are already working on identity blockchain technology, however it is still in early stages and will have to be proved before presenting it to governments. Of course, even these projects raise questions, such as who is developing it, how will they monetise it and how will they maintain it. Legally, there is also an issue about who owns the information once it is uploaded to the blockchain; each individual or a government?

Although we’re not quite there yet, it is to be hoped that blockchain technology will make data breaches a thing of the past, although whether we ever see a universal ID system emerge is another matter altogether.