5 ways Artificial Intelligence is reshaping the BFSI sector

The pandemic brought with it innumerable challenges for both legacy systems and brave new startups in the BFSI (Banking, Financial Services and Insurance industry) industry. What has distinguished businesses that have thrived from those that didn't is the willingness to adopt digital transformation including AI (Artificial Intelligence) and other cutting-edge technologies to speed up processes and serve customers without a hitch. The service models that we relied on just a few years ago are now obsolete and as an industry, we need to constantly innovate.

Here are five ways in which he believes AI is helping reshape the BFSI sector.

Seamless customer service

During the pandemic, the biggest concern was how we were going to be able to cater to the needs of the clients without glitches and today we know that even post the pandemic, in a world where the challenges of the past few years are going to hopefully become a distant memory, we will still be relying on AI to speedily revert to queries, process information and create new services that can cater to the specific needs of every single customer.    

Protect data and predict anomalies  

Personal data, as the cliché goes, is the new currency of the digital age and if it falls into the wrong hands, it can be dangerously misused. The onus is upon us to ensure that the trust of the client is never betrayed and this is where AI helps us to not just protect data but also identify anomalies before they can ripen into fraud. Machine learning and AI tools are helping us to streamline systems so that risks of data misappropriation and fraudulent activities are minimised.

Automation and increased efficiency 

A data intensive industry like ours once relied on laborious and time-consuming methods to process unstructured volumes of information and to check routine boxes earlier. The repetitive nature of these jobs increased the possibility of human error. Thankfully now we rely on AI, Robotic process automation (RPA) and new technological tools to automate and error-proof  such tasks. AI also helps us to multi-task and to formulate huge reams of data into manageable bytes so that time-sensitive decisions can be taken faster.

A bigger basket of tech choices

AI is the doorway to not just better customer service, fraud detection and faster data processing, it also brings with it a larger spread of tech offerings like NLP (Natural Language Processing), Robotics and cognitive systems that help increase revenue, add to customer satisfaction and bring forth more business opportunities.    

New breakthroughs

Be it interactive interfaces, chatbots, app modernisation, biometric fraud detection mechanisms, cost effective cloud technology, big data analytics or increased focus on microservices, we are just beginning to scratch the surface of what technology can do for us.  We are today beginning to become increasingly comfortable in a hyper digital world where mobile banking, e-banking and financial solutions are just a touch away. AI has helped us to not just keep up with the times but also predict the future and show our customers that we are ready to serve them anytime anywhere. 

The views are by Alok Bansal, Visionet Systems India's MD and Global Head of BFSI Business.