It’s safe to say that artificial intelligence (AI) has established itself in the business world. Think of it as part of a company that is always working and doesn’t take time off. The efficiencies AI presents are so tremendous that it is expected to result in more than $1 trillion in savings in the industry.
As I write this, financial services firms are harnessing AI to provide new opportunities for enhancing call centers, detecting fraud, and enabling a smarter level of trading.
Chatbots and Call Centers
The financial services market is filled with companies offering customers with products and services to expand their portfolios; therefore, firms that maximize their customer service efforts will succeed. Major firms that are trying to increase customer retention are implementing chatbots in their call centers to answer basic queries, give advice, direct calls, and provide an overall better customer experience.
Recently, North Carolina-based BB&T Bank said it planned to invest $50 million in digital technologies that will better serve customers. The company will explore how it can use tools, such as chatbots and voice assistants, to create better interactions with clients.
Fraud Detection
E-commerce and online transactions proceed to grow as our society continues to enjoy the luxury of a connected world. This has created a need for sophisticated fraud detection – it is a requirement for day-to-day business in the financial services world. However, to employ a large fraud detection team around the clock is simply cost prohibitive. Al is where the answer lies.
For example, a sophisticated fraud detection system can analyze client behavior, location, and buying habits, and it can trigger a security alert when things look suspicious.
Mastercard leverages machine-learning algorithms running on HPC systems to process large data sets, nearly instantaneously. This capability helps Mastercard stop fraud in its tracks without disrupting or delaying legitimate transactions. Currently, Mastercard has 2 billion cards in use in more than 210 countries and territories. It processes 165 million transactions per hour, using machine-learning algorithms and applying 1.9 million rules to examine each transaction. It all happens in a matter of milliseconds.
Smart Trading
People love to make money, and when a firm maximizes monetary investments, customers are more likely to stay. With the help of AI, financial brokers can optimize their research and recommendations through algorithmic and high‑frequency trading, AI helps firms make better, faster decisions on the trading floor, which then results in more money for clients and a happier customer base.
Bloomberg recently launched a smart trading prediction matrix featuring a price-forecasting application for investors, which is powered by AI. It combines real-time market data provided by Bloomberg with an advanced learning engine to identify patterns in price movements for high-accuracy market predictions.
Keep in mind that AI is not necessarily here to replace the human side of financial services, but rather to enhance their decision making and recommendations. With the assistance of AI, a financial services company can provide data-driven decisions best suited to help the customer.
Investing in technology, such as AI, will digitally transform customer care and provide a competitive advantage for your organization. Download our guide Top Technology Trends for Smarter, Strategic Customer Care to learn more.
