Modern money: The insider’s guide to the future of banking
Forget Monzo and Buzz, the next frontier for banking is all about AI, apps and voice recognition
There’s no shortage of start-ups in today’s frenetic world of entrepreneurship and technology. Yet, peppered through the mass of optimistic executives, dizzying sums of money and sparks of ingenuity doomed to fizzle out, there are a handful of businesses that truly promise to change their respective industries.
And, when it comes to the notoriously haphazard world of finance, it’s clear that we are no longer solely relying on The Big Four to manage our money. From the exponential rise of Monzo to the introduction of voice recognition services, there’s a lot more to modern banking than walking into your local Barclays to cash a cheque.
To help navigate these changing times, we spoke with Jamie Johnson, CEO of FJP Investment, and asked him to give us his predictions for the biggest trends and changes we can expect to see in the banking world in the very near future.
Big banks are stepping up innovation efforts...
“Responding to the rise of challenger banks, big banks were caught on the back foot when it came to adopting digital solutions to improve their services,” explains Jamie. “With ambitious and forward-thinking entrepreneurs driving the rise of challenger banks, the pressure is now on traditional banks to meet the changing demands of their customers.”
“In fact, many large banks have earmarked new roles as means of implementing internal change to their business structures. Lloyds Banking Group, for instance, recently announced it will be creating 8,000 digital roles as it invests more heavily in its technology and operational capabilities. Of course, having these positions in place is one thing – ensuring they enable innovation is another challenge entirely.”
Apps will only become more important...
“Today, there’s an app for almost everything – from the day-to-day management of expenditures to checking the latest stock prices,” says Jamie. “Importantly, more and more non-tech businesses are beginning to understand the advantages that come with having an app — specifically in the finance sector.”
“An app offers customers an easy and intuitive way of engaging with your business. In response to growing demand from our clients, FJP Investment recently launched an app which keeps our clients informed on the latest industry trends, as well as the key developments taking place within the business. It’s all about offering clear and transparent lines of communication, and apps are ideally positioned to link clients to their service providers.”
The future is artificial...
“Artificial intelligence is taking the world by storm, especially when it comes to the financial sector. So much so that a recent report by MoneyLive revealed that 86% of bankers believe that intelligent, self-improving algorithms will be the core of banking services by 2025. But how does this translate to personal benefits to the consumer? Consumers can expect more personalised banking services, which are directly tailored to their financial habits and needs.
“If we look at the most popular use-cases for AI in banking, the future potential for this technology is clear. Not only is it being applied to ramp up fraud detection to safeguard people’s money, it can offer automated guidance to customers and simplify tedious and time-consuming processes like credit risk assessments.”
Soon, your apps will be answering back...
“There’s a growing possibility that we might see the introduction of more voice services in our banking applications in the next few years. This shouldn’t come as too much of a surprise, especially given the growing popularity of tools such as Amazon’s Alexa. And, while people do remain hesitant about completely trusting technology with their personal information – particularly when it comes to money – it is not out of the realm of possibility that such services will slowly seep into the mobile banking world.”
Some banks are already leading the way in this space; Santander is currently rolling out a service which enables customers to use voice recognition technology instead of security numbers to verify their identity when using telephone banking.
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