Disruptive digital technologies like artificial, robotics, and blockchain are transforming the banking and financial services industry. Sure, these technologies are unlikely to fully replace human-required services like fund management, but nevertheless, the opportunities are looking good.
In this article, we will review the roles disruptive technologies can play in the financial services industry ‒ and assess the risks as well!
The use of disruptive technologies in the financial industry
According to common opinion, blockchain, robots, and artificial intelligence are predicted to revolutionize the financial services industry. On the other hand, they can have their own limits — and it is also worth discussing.
It would be wise to discuss this with financial leaders. According to different studies, these people are somewhat optimistic about blockchain, AI, and robotics, but many also voiced some concerns about the dangers associated with disruptive technologies.
Despite the fact that many executives and enterprises acknowledged a need for a deeper understanding of these technologies, many businesses are trapped between a challenging learning process and the need to answer competition challenges.
Some business leaders are also concerned that there is a gap between imagining what disruptive tech can do and its actual capabilities.
Artificial intelligence
Financial services companies already use AI for various purposes. For example, artificial intelligence has proven to be effective as a solution for customer support (chatbots) and even the evaluation of credit scores. This is something everyone associated with the financial sector is familiar with, one way or another.
Of course, artificial intelligence as a technology carries its risks. Among them are regulatory mistakes, lack of human factor, and lack of context knowledge. These risks are among the main reasons why many companies are cautious about integrating AI into their primary business operations.
Robotics
Robotics also shows a significant increase in popularity among financial experts and financial industry leaders. Apart from customer service terminals that many people are already familiar with, there are also software robots that can automate many financial processes ‒ for example, manage the customer base or resolve primitive automation issues in business processes.
Several dangers are associated with implementing robotics as a technology in the financial industry, including a possibility of a poorly designed automation that might increase processing mistakes. A moral dilemma is emerging, as robots might replace human labour.
Blockchain
Financial institutions feel that blockchain is at the cutting edge of technologies that might significantly influence their industry. Numerous financial institutions are starting to work with well-known cryptocurrencies and stablecoins, employing blockchain to construct different financial platforms ‒ exchanges, and funds, for example.
While considering blockchain, a variety of risks need to be taken into account. Two typical blockchain issues include
- the risk of value transfer, when participants in the peer-to-peer structure are exposed to risks that a central operator would typically control ‒ for example, malicious transactions;
- the risk of smart contracts ‒ they have the capacity to store complex financial and legal agreements, but it can be challenging to adapt them to the various combinations, exceptions, and limitations that exist in the actual world.
Also, smart contracts require additional expenses tied to their audits ‒ once the contract is launched, there is no way to imply any changes. Since they are executed automatically, the code must be exceptionally well-written to exclude mistakes and miscalculations.
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