Amid a revolution in the financial services sector, artificial intelligence (AI) is no longer just a buzzword but a genuinely transformative force.
As AI technologies integrate seamlessly into most aspects of the industry, they are revolutionising customer experiences, fortifying fraud prevention mechanisms, managing risks and compliance and streamlining document and query management.
AI and human ingenuity are coalescing to create a more robust financial ecosystem. iStock
Rick Browne, regional vice president financial services in Asia for Appian, a global leader in platform technology for digital transformation, is at the coalface of this revolution.
“Our founding principles revolve around efficiency, speed, and delivering real business outcomes,” says Browne.
Appian’s platform, which is designed to train AI to enhance consumer workflows, is not just a tool but part of a future where AI and human ingenuity coalesce to create a more robust financial ecosystem.
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The customer sits at the heart of the financial services revolution, says Browne.
Rick Browne, regional vice president financial services in Asia for Appian.
“We’re at a really exciting - and challenging - juncture in integrating AI technologies to help support businesses, their employees, and ultimately their customers,” he says.
AI-driven insights are paving the way for personalised banking experiences, predictive assistance and smarter customer service – all tailored to meet individual needs and preferences.
One real-world example is the AI-powered chatbots and virtual assistants that are now commonplace, providing 24/7 customer service, answering queries, and even offering financial advice.
By harnessing vast amounts of data, these AI solutions can anticipate customer needs and offer tailored advice, ensuring a smoother and more enjoyable banking experience.
Appian, which is Gartner Magic Quadrant leader in the enterprise low-code application platforms (LCAP) market, has also reduced onboarding time by an order of magnitude.
“If we’re looking at onboarding a complex entity, like it could be a building company or a large bank here in Australia, we can get that time down from 39 days to 39 hours, because of the technology at our disposal and AI,” says Browne.
“That boosts customer experience, accelerates revenue and allows the people that want to work with an institution to leverage that capability faster.”
Preventing fraud and managing risks
In a world where financial crimes are increasingly sophisticated, the role of AI in preventing fraud cannot be overstated.
“The potential for institutions to work more closely together, sharing insights to combat financial crimes more effectively, is something we’re really excited about,” says Browne.
AI algorithms are adept at detecting unusual patterns indicative of fraudulent activities, allowing banks to act swiftly to protect their customers and their assets.
Moreover, these sophisticated systems can manage risks by continually learning and adapting to new threats.
“It’s vital that we understand the journey an AI has been on, what it’s learned and how it’s been trained so we can avoid and correct any mistakes,” says Browne.
Browne emphasises the importance of transparency in AI’s decision-making processes, especially in sensitive areas like anti-money laundering where “getting it wrong and producing false positives can be very damaging”.
Streamlining compliance
Compliance is a critical concern for financial institutions, and AI is playing a crucial role in streamlining this aspect of the business.
Regulatory technology (regtech) solutions powered by AI are automating compliance processes, ensuring that financial institutions stay ahead of regulations and avoid costly penalties.
The Appian AI Process Platform is instrumental in training AI to navigate the complex web of regulations that financial services must adhere to.
“Appian is working to train AI across our platform to enhance the consumer workflow and replication of capability across an enterprise,” says Browne.
“This approach is not only efficient but also effective in maintaining stringent compliance standards.”
AI is also changing how companies digest documents.
Advanced algorithms are now capable of processing and analysing documents at unprecedented speeds, extracting relevant information, and even identifying discrepancies. This not only saves time but also reduces the potential for human error.
“We predict there will be more bespoke, industry-specific solutions, like claims management and underwriting, which will greatly benefit from the AI-driven insights,” says Browne.
“We have a roadmap that that will drive AI within all elements of Appian. As a platform Appian is really good at bringing many things together in consumer workflow.”
With its global presence, Appian is in a unique position to share successful practices across markets, benefitting clients worldwide - vital in an interconnected world where financial services operate across borders and regulations.
Not evolution, but revolution
Matt Heine, the CEO and managing director of Netwealth, an ASX 200 listed investment and superannuation technology platform, says that what’s happening in the sector is “a revolution”.
“The impact of gen [generative] AI, which is new, really represents more of a revolution than an evolution for technology businesses,” says Heine.
ASX-listed Netwealth, which manages over $79 billion in FUA (funds under administration), has been leveraging AI for over a decade, and is looking to develop new offerings leveraging these new generative AI tools to provide a hyper-personalised and data-driven experience to its clients.
“AI has become incredibly powerful and we see a future where it will super-charge the usability of our platform and provide new insights to our clients,” says Heine.
For example, Netwealth is exploring how AI can help present investors and their financial advisers with a big picture view of their financial world, making it easier for them to grasp their financial health.
Matt Heine, CEO and managing director of Netwealth.
“That ability in the future, to effectively have conversations with your financial data is going to help people feel far more in control,” says Heine.
Risk management and fraud prevention are other areas where AI is making a mark. AI’s capability to analyse both structured and unstructured data aids in detecting unusual transactions by comparing them against historical user behaviour.
“We have algorithms that are run in the background to look at a range of different factors, and that surfaces up suspicious transactions,” says Heine.
“This is going to be critical in the future, especially as we see an increase in fraudulent activity across the industry and fraud become more sophisticated.”
Document and query management processes have also seen a revolutionary change with the introduction of AI. By automating document identification, categorisation, and indexing, AI has streamlined what used to be a labour-intensive process.
“This not only saves time but also allows for better allocation of human resources to more strategic tasks,” says Heine.
And the future?
“We suspect that AI is going to impact us for the better, and touch many parts of our business,” says Heine.
“Whether that’s looking for back-office efficiencies, such as across document management, document recognition or document extraction, through to how we think about sales and marketing, to how we actually build our offer.
“AI will also impact how clients are going to interact with our products and services in the future.”
Heine says the future of AI in the sector is “very bright”.
“Because it’s going to drive significant efficiency and staff satisfaction, AI is something that you need to start thinking about and investing in now. If you don’t, you will get left behind very quickly.”
For more information on how your organisation can apply Appian’s Private AI, Data Fabric and automation technologies to unlock new productivity and customer service enhancements, please visit Appian.
