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The current climate has led more individuals, businesses and government entities to really take a look at what they can do to protect themselves from the very real threat of cyberattacks. Today more than ever, artificial intelligence is playing a larger role in detecting and mitigating cyber risks. 

Why do cybersecurity and insurance go hand in hand?

Risk and protection go hand and hand. The more data that is collected on someone or something, the more valuable it can become for someone who wants to use it for malicious intent. Cyber risk is a new type of risk that has appeared in the past 5 years and that is increasing year after year. The attacks themselves can come with little to no warning, and the task of recovering from one is often time-consuming and costly. 

Ransomware attacks, distributed denial of service attacks and phishing attacks are just a few of the plethora of ways that attackers can gain access to home and company networks, steal passwords and banking information and go as far as wiping clean the computers in offices, leaving nothing more than a paperweight at each desk. These attacks in fact are so common that 23% of small business owners have had an attack in the last 12 months according to a survey by Hiscox. 

Here are some examples of how AI can be used to combat specific types of cyber threats.

1. Data Poisoning

Data poisoning can be seen for literally what it is, taking data and then using it with ill intent. This is done when samples of data that are used for training algorithms are manipulated into having an output or prediction that is hostile that is triggered by specific inputs. This is all the while remaining accurate for all other inputs. 

Data Poisoning that turns systems hostile is done before the model training step. Zelros has an Ethical Report standard, where they collect a dataset signature on the successive steps of modelisation. This is a necessary check that needs to be taken that helps prove afterwards that the data has not been tampered with or otherwise manipulated. This standard can be adapted by other companies as one of the best practices when using AI responsibly.

2. Privacy 

Entities, whether they be government, law enforcement or even personal networks that have specific features within their dataset that are used to train their algorithm, their identity may be compromised. To avoid an individual or multiple identities being compromised as part of the training data and therefore adding risk to their privacy, organisations can use unique techniques such as federated learning. It boils down to training individual models locally at the source and federating them on a more worldwide scale, to keep the personal data secured locally. In general, it’s good to note that detecting specific samples of outliers and excluding them from the training is a recommended good practise to keep on hand.

3. Bias Bounties

As for older generations of software, sharing the details of an AI algorithm can become more of a liability, especially if it becomes exploited with malicious intent to harm since it provides insights into the model structure and its operation. A countermeasure, brought on by Forrester as a trend for 2022, is bias bounties, which support AI software companies to strengthen and improve their algorithm robustness.   

“At least 5 large companies will introduce bias bounties in 2022.”

- According to Forrester: North American Predictions 2022 Guide

Bias bounties are becoming the go-to weapon and armour of defence for ethical and responsible AI because they can help ensure that the algorithm in place is as unbiased and as reliable as possible. All because of the many sets of eyes and different thought processes that review it throughout the course of the campaign.  

4. Human Behaviour

Human behaviour can be some of the hardest and easiest to predict. When it comes to data or AI manipulation, our first thought might be malicious activity. However, organisations should stop to reflect on what Personal Data is being willingly shared by people even if it is not knowingly. 

Our CyberSecurity main weakness is our ability to propagate knowledge of our identity and activities in seconds to thousands of people. Artificial intelligence or even basic tools that can collect data have given this new behaviour consequences that may prove critical when it comes to cyber security.

Let’s look at an old example for reference, with geo-localisation data that is openly shared on social networks: From 2018, it shows how individual scraps of data can be gathered to provide powerful insights into an individual person’s identity and/or behaviour. 

These insights can then actually be used as leveraged by AI systems to categorise ‘potential customer targets’ and provide very specific outputs or recommendations. A more recent reference that can be reviewed is, The Social Dilemma documentary about the world of the “attention economy” that is built on this Personal Data gathering from monumental amounts of information. To decrease the impact and subsequent consequences of our Human behaviour, nothing outperforms culture and scientific awareness. Data Science acculturation is essential for more security of our private data but also for the ethicality that is baked into AI models, as detailed in the first topic of this article.

“AI tools may be too powerful for our own good”: When feeding streams of data on customers, a Machine Learning model may learn much more than we would actually like it to. For example, even when gender is not an explicit data point in customer data, the algorithm can actually learn to infer it through proxy features. All this when a Human could not, at least with that amount of data, in such a limited time. For that reason, analysing and monitoring the ML model is crucial. 

To better equips ourselves to anticipate algorithm and model behaviour, and to help prevent from occurring discrimination through proxies, a key element is diversity. This key can be and is often overlooked when discussing AI solutions. Having multiple reviewers that can provide input through their individual cultural, socioeconomic and ethical backgrounds can lower the risks of biases being placed into AI programs. Organisations can also request algorithmic audits by Third parties, which utilise their expertise and workforce diversity if the team themselves lack diversity to complete these tasks themselves. 

About the author: Antoine de Langlois is Zelros' data science leader for Responsible AI. Antoine has built a career in IT governance, data and security and now ethical AI. Prior to Zelros he held multiple technology roles at Total Energies and Canon Communications. Today he is a member of Impact AI and HUB France AI. Antoine graduated from CentraleSupelec University, France. 

Dr Neumann, you have served as an Ambassador to the UK and campaigned for the restoration of democracy and free markets in your homeland. Many people will be surprised to learn that the West’s financial system has an implicit bias towards companies and individuals from emerging markets.

Please can you explain how this bias manifested itself?

I think what people need to understand is that emerging markets are generally punished in several ways by compliance systems that are inherently biased. The goal of AML is to increase the systems of checks and balances to spot the illicit financial flows, but also to allow development. So far, poorly applied or biased AML compliance systems are imposed on countries that either don’t have the training or have the capacity to conduct that monitoring, but do their own compliance in a manner that is culturally relevant to them, with their own understanding of local market players and relevant documentation. 

It also disadvantages licit financial flows, for business and trade finance, that fund economic development and economic inclusion, which are SDGs of the UN and are also in the stated goals of the World Bank and the IMF. Yet if the country systems don’t have the capacity or protocols to meet these particularly Western protocols and the country gets ‘grey listed’ by the FATF regional body, the country gets punished in several ways. First, good financial flows are disadvantaged, by being delayed or outright blocked. Second, if you are grey-listed by the FATF, the cost of servicing your sovereign debt goes way up and, considering that emerging markets already have higher debt burdens and higher interest rates, it’s a real double burden.

You were recently appointed to the board of Tintra PLC. Why did you decide to join the company and how do you see your role developing?

I decided to join the Tintra Board because I’m excited about its mission. I think it applies innovative technologies that remove bias, improve economic inclusion and economic development which are all values that I have clearly stated and fought for during my career. This is a bank that is building its systems from the ground up, rather than trying to impose new technology on a legacy system, with which there is friction. Tintra’s approach is completely innovative. Its frictionless technology will increase the opportunity for entrepreneurs and economic development: both are things I care about. 

How do I see my role developing? Hopefully, my credentials in financial integrity and my relationships with multinational organisations like the OECD, FATF, OAS, UNODC will be helpful to bring forth a productive dialogue between Tintra and those organisations. I hope also to bridge nuanced and effective relationships between Tintra and the Western Hemisphere, particularly Latin America.

What are the regional differences and challenges that Tintra faces in the markets it operates in and how does it seek to overcome them?

It seeks to overcome them by having, on the one hand, regional knowledge, and nuance of how those countries work, together with genuine insight on what “good” or proper documentation and identity identification look like, and what are normal and acceptable behavioural patterns of these people doing these transactions. And then, on the other hand, you are also building the technology that will access that knowledge and analyse those factors in a way that is unbiased. I think that’s a very worthy challenge.

Do you believe that advanced technology and Is AI the key to overcoming compliance red tape?

Yes, I think so. I think it will be fantastic. As I said several times, the current Western-style system of anti-money laundering causes more than 90% of false positives, flagging people that are not doing anything wrong. It’s very burdensome; it’s very expensive, and yet you still have financing of terrorism and transnational organised crime, while more good and honest businesses and individuals are unjustly punished. This is not only unjust but counterproductive. What we want is to capture more of the illicit financial flows, while enabling (and indeed facilitating and expediting) good financial flows, linked to trade, finance, and development. 

AI properly built and applied is key to that. I think that Tintra’s approach is good because they are starting with that, rather than trying to backwards induce an AI system on an older legacy system. This is something I think most banks are finding very challenging. The way Tintra is building its framework ensures that its systems will not only be more efficient now but continue to innovate well into the future. Tintra will be the world’s first bank purpose-built for Web 3.0.

What does International Women's Day mean to you?

On International Women’s Day 2022 (March 8th), my work with Tintra is particularly satisfying. First, as a woman, who is also Latin American, it's both a great honour and responsibility to bring those twin identities and voices to the board of directors of a financial institution at the forefront of both banking and technology. Second, women are always the ones who struggle the most when there is a downturn, and the pandemic put that into stark relief. As entrepreneurs, particularly in emerging markets, women are severely disadvantaged in their access to capital and financial services. Tintra’s unbiased and always on AI-driven compliance system should level the playing field for female entrepreneurs everywhere – and that is something I will be proud to support.

A wide range of apps is already being used in day-to-day life. Institutional trading platforms, direct access brokers, and HFT-investment tools expand their capabilities via API connections from AI backend systems. Companies with a significant footprint in the artificial intelligence sector have shown remarkable evolution and strength in the financial markets. Investors who have chosen the right stocks in the early stages of AI made meaningful profits partaking in their growth.

AI Revolutionises The Economy

Whether in the investment or energy sector, legal advice, retail or elder care, the areas in which artificial intelligence systems can be used are numerous and broad. Consequently, companies and analysts assume that artificial intelligence will revolutionise the economy of the 21st century.

AI has become a fundamental everyday companion for many people. For example, many use it to access buildings and data centres or digital facial recognition on their newest smartphones. Internet search results are getting better and better by picking the best results for a relevant query out of multi-millions of potential websites. In addition, voice assistance and translators become faster, and spell checkers in e-mails are more accurate than ever before.

The chances are that millions of people will be transported by autonomous driving cars soon. For their use, test automobiles are in operation worldwide. They collect "driving experience" over millions of miles and collect the essential data for self-learning algorithms.

Investors In AI-Focused Companies

Companies with a substantial focus on artificial intelligence see rapid gains on stock markets like the New York Stock Exchange or Nasdaq. Tech giants such as Microsoft Corporation, Nvidia Corporation, Alphabet Inc., and Apple Inc. have seen significant gains between March 2020 and December 2021. They all have in common that their services are used with existing products without selling something new to a customer.

Microsoft Windows is still by far the leading operating system on P.C. Alphabet's Google search is implemented on billions of devices and used by billions of users around the world every day. Nvidia's graphic cards are part of most gaming computers, and Google's Android-based devices dominate the smartphone market along with Apple's iOS systems. Those technologies play a crucial role in advancing artificial intelligence, whether Alexa, Cortana or Siri.

Nevertheless, caution is required, like with any investment. Being an industry leader in a growing market does not automatically ensure unlimited success without risk.

Companies can fail despite good ideas. Facebook, for example, changed its company philosophy in late 2021 by re-branding the company name from Facebook to Meta Platforms. with the focus on the growing Metaverse. This new company strategy is not a guarantee of success, and first growth projections confirm that the future growth is expensive while the user base is shrinking for the first time. Facebook goes with the Metaverse trend, and people tend to confirm that this is a real trend, but it might take decades before actual results become visible in balance sheets.

Therefore, buying individual shares of companies focusing on AI can lead to meaningful profits and extensive losses. Regardless of the prevalent company strategy, current market stake and future expansion of the digital transformation.

In general, investments need explicit expertise to determine the best possible companies worth an investment. The risk of investing in specific assets is significantly higher than for mutual funds that invest broadly and are actively managed by investment professionals.

AI Company Investments

Investing in specific shares of a company requires insights into the most key company fundamentals and ample knowledge about the stock market in general. Many free stock trading platforms provide free information about company metrics like:

In addition, numerous websites also supply users with stock charts, technical analysis features and portfolio tracking functionalities. But, in the beginning, investors have to learn how to interpret those company fundamentals correctly. Comparisons relative to other companies in peer groups and other sectors are also meaningful.

A small fraction of investors prefer day trading volatile growth stock with big stakes in AI technologies. They utilise tools to profit from minimal stock market movements. Such tools often focus on high-speed trade execution, extensive charting capacities and excellent customer support. Some of those platforms also use AI to find the best tradable stocks.

Day traders often trade 1,000 shares or more at once to achieve a high cumulative profit. Interestingly, a day trader holds 100% cash overnight without investment exposure. Therefore day trading is entirely independent of the company's future potential and business success.

Day trading is one of the most speculative investment strategies and demands a massive time responsibility. That's why most investors choose long-term investments by using instruments like ETFs.

Diversified Portfolios

Investing in artificial intelligence-focused mutual funds or exchange-traded funds is often considered a much safer alternative to day trading. With an accelerating digitisation trend, some investment funds focus entirely on artificial intelligence to benefit from the value driven by this technology. Their broadly diversified portfolios help investors partake in the evolution of AI companies worldwide.

Diversification of investments by investing in ETFs is a great alternative to day trading AI stocks. The key benefits are:

Conclusion

The artificial intelligence business has immense potential, and it will be one of the pivotal disrupting industries in the 21st century. As a result, investors can now participate in the future growth of AI in numerous ways. Retail brokers and more specialised HFT brokers continuously expand their capabilities and enable investors to connect AI systems to their order routing systems. Algorithms take care of the order routing and trade execution process.

Long-term investing via AI-focused exchange-traded funds has some limitations in controlling the company diversification within the ETF but requires only a little time commitment from the investor. In contrast, investing in stocks is an excellent way to diversify a portfolio directly. Still, it requires comprehensive knowledge of financial market behaviour and insights into key company financials. Yet, day trading volatile stocks allows to stay on cash overnight, but it is only an option for professionals and demands the highest time commitment.

The common misconception about productivity is that it relates to staff apathy, but this is not what productivity measures. Instead, productivity improvements are created through investment in technology, supporting staff and considering new ways of working. Here, we take a look at some of the things that Finance Directors can do to boost productivity.

Process Automation

Business process automation is becoming one of the most popular and important forms of digitisation. The simple premise behind process automation is taking business procedures that take a lot of repetitive manual effort from human staff, and transferring those tasks to software and other technology. 

Naturally, there are a number of simple and repetitive tasks that take a lot of effort from finance department workers. So the move to automate these processes can save staff a significant amount of time. This frees them up to take on tasks that are more functionally valuable and productive for the company as a whole. 

Artificial Intelligence

While process automation is one form of digitisation that has become important to the finance department - it is also crucial to look at emerging technologies and possibilities. One area that Finance Directors really need to be investigating is artificial intelligence. Transformative technologies such as machine-learning algorithms and natural language tools can not be easily implemented. 

One overlooked area in terms of finance is the power of AI chatbots. These can save members of the team a great deal of time in explaining concepts and simple details to people who have questions. Of course, when the chatbots aren’t able to answer a question it can be passed on to a member of the team. But for simple queries, it can save a lot of time and boost productivity.

Invest In Cybersecurity

The finance team can be at risk from something known as Business Email Compromise (BEC) attacks. BEC attacks are often designed to trick members of the finance team and therefore disrupt processes. “BEC is a specialist type of phishing attack that is becoming increasingly prevalent,” says Simon Monahan of cybersecurity specialists Redscan, “BEC attacks are designed to impersonate senior executives and trick employees, customers or vendors into wiring payment for goods or services to alternate bank accounts.” 

As well as being frustrating to deal with, the threat of this type of attack can significantly reduce productivity, as members of the team have to confirm identities even before processing payments from familiar people. Investing in cybersecurity can minimise this risk and free up valuable staff time. 

Focus On Morale

It is often underestimated just how important morale is to a finance department’s efficiency and productivity. The world has gone through the Covid-19 pandemic and come out of the other side with many things changed. Finance Directors must recognise this and accept that they might need to do something to help refocus and improve the morale of staff. 

It is no controversy to say that when staff are happy and feel good about what they are doing, they can be more productive and efficient. This could be something as simple as ensuring more regular meetings between members of staff, overhauling how the department works, and ensuring that staff feel comfortable with any changes. 

Embrace Remote Working

With finance departments operating remotely now as the new norm, many businesses are finding that their productivity levels have increased. With flexible working patterns, employees enjoy the balance of hybrid working.

Some companies choose not to move in that direction, preferring staff to work at the office wherever possible. If you are in this position, it is important to recognise the benefits of promoting remote working. 

It is necessary not only to invest in technology and software to help finance teams become more productive but also to thoroughly consider processes and adapt well to new ways of working. Many businesses evolve their finance processes not through striving for perfection, but simply because things need to get done. Examine your finance team’s procedures and look for opportunities to improve. 

About the author: Annie Button is a professional content writer and branding aficionado.

At the same time, nothing stops you from retraining and pursuing a career in an industry that is beginning to take off. Emerging industries have always been a thing, and the new industries are often popular with existing and budding entrepreneurs alike.

Knowing what these industries are is the critical first step, and that is where we come into the picture. Below, you will find a list of some emerging industries that have dominated the business scene for the past few years and which look set to remain. 

Regardless of what industry you are looking to move from or into, read on to discover more about these industries, as well as a bit about what you can do to be successful in your upcoming career switch. 

What Is An Emerging Industry?

Before getting into the swing of things, let’s take it back to basics. For those who are unsure, Investopedia defines an emerging industry as when a product or idea is in the early stages of development, and numerous companies focus themselves on this idea. Generally speaking, this happens when a new form of technology is discovered or created, replacing an older counterpart. 

As you might have grasped following from this definition, there have been numerous emerging industries throughout the last few decades, running alongside the numerous technological advancements that we have seen. These include the following industries: 

1. Artificial Intelligence (AI)

AI is something that is becoming all the more commonplace but is a phenomenon that is still confusing a lot of people. The technology that is used for this emerging industry is continuing to develop and grow and is being used more in our day-to-day lives than ever before. While some might find this form of technology problematic, it has proven to be incredibly helpful to numerous industries. 

Various industries and businesses use this emerging technology; it is even used by some government departments here in the United States. There are numerous jobs available in this emerging industry, and they can be attained by learning the associated skills that often link closely with computer science as a field. 

2. Fintech

The running theme throughout this piece will be that most emerging industries relate to the likes of technology in some way or another. Fintech, also known as Financial Technology, is the process of competing with or replacing more traditional methods of delivering financial services with a form of technology. Much like other forms of technology, this is something that is continuing to grow and develop while also revolutionising the ways that we complete tasks. As a result, there is always something new to learn about this emerging industry. 

Fintech courses online allow interested parties to learn more about this form of technology while retaining their existing skills in the hope of moving into this as a career. Completing this fintech course from Harvard University Online in your own time ensures that you can make the switch into the industry at your own pace and when the timing is suitable for you. Financial services will always be required; there is no doubt this is an industry and form of technology that is here to stay. 

3. Renewable Energy

This is a term that we feel many people reading this and beyond are familiar with, for it is something we have grown accustomed to throughout recent decades. There has been a significant focus on renewable energy throughout the years, with this idea gaining more traction since the United States rejoined the Paris Climate Agreement

Clean energy is important to many people, not just those who are eco-conscious. The renewable energy industry is set to grow exponentially in the coming year, with analysis experts estimating that the growth could pose a threat to the traditional use of coal. 

Expanding into an industry like this is a lot easier than most people realise. Beginning your career change by volunteering in the sector to develop your passion is the best place to start. From here, you can learn more about the processes and establish whether there are more specific skills that you need to learn and develop before applying for a role. 

It goes without saying, but emerging industries provide a multitude of career and growth opportunities. Understanding what the first steps are and moving forward from there is sure to ensure you land a career you are happy with. No matter which emerging industry has caught your eye, go forth knowing you are making the right moves and will be working with the latest technologies in no time.

In August, IPC, a technology and service leader powering the global financial markets, announced its partnership with Overbond, a fixed income fintech platform for AI predictive analytics and visualisations. The aim of the partnership is to leverage the voice that IPC captures through its Natural Language Processing (NLP) solution, known as a Dictation as a Service, to facilitate Overbond’s AI pricing and liquidity algorithms. It is worth noting that bond trading tends to be far more illiquid compared to equities, meaning prices for the majority of bonds are difficult to determine due to the infrequency with which they are traded at.

What exactly is being leveraged?

Moreover, to gain a greater understanding of the strategic collaboration, it is important to examine what exactly is being leveraged. Firstly, IPC’s Dictation as a Service is a cloud-based tool. To power this, IPC utilises its award-winning Connexus Cloud infrastructure. The solution allows traders to “dictate” trade terminology as well as translate what is being said in real-time through IPC’s Blotter visualisation platform. The combination of these applications provides end-users with an extensive solution for transforming previously unstructured voice trade data into discoverable, transportable data – all of which takes place in real-time.

Adding to this, Overbond has made significant progress in tackling data aggregation problems impacting automated trading of fixed income securities. Overbond’s COBI-Pricing LIVE tool is a customisable AI pricing engine that helps traders when it comes to automating pricing and trading workflows for global investment-grade bonds, as well as producing prices and liquidity totals for over 100,000 fixed income devices. By integrating COBI-Pricing LIVE with a bilateral representational state transfer (REST) application programming interface (API), which works by handling requests for a resource and returning all the necessary information regarding the resource, translating it into an easily interpretable format for clients, the AI algorithm is able to absorb, collect and process data. This can be from both present and past vendor feeds, internal historical documentation, over-the-counter settlement layer volume records, and now, thanks to this partnership, voice transactions.

Significant milestone

This partnership represents a significant milestone in the evolution of market structure, with technological innovation happening across different levels as a combination of services capable of translating trader voice communications to a structured data feed successfully for bond trading. The aforementioned levels are: voice call tagging to security code – within the workflow of the traders – and AI for downstream processing of the data.

What issues will the partnership help to solve?

Bonds are still traded by voice, with almost 25 percent of fixed-income trades that are made in both Europe and the United States of America executed using voice. This represented a large amount of data that wasn’t previously considered, illustrating a substantial gap in AI-powered, automated fixed-income modelling and trading. The strategic collaboration between IPC, which operates one of the largest networks for fixed-income voice trading in the world, and Overbond will ensure that this valuable voice data no longer goes uncaptured. What’s more exciting, as this trade data can now be captured and anonymised, is Overbond’s algorithms are now capable of pricing fixed-income instruments with greater accuracy. 

It is no secret that the bond markets have been one of the last holdouts in financial services’ digital transformation, however, the resistance has started to wane. Partnerships between organisations, like the one between IPC and Overbond, showcase the ability to bring innovative technologies together developing next-generation solutions for the fixed-income marketplace. The strategic collaboration with Overbond continues the digital transformation of fixed-income trading by fully harnessing the power of voice data. Both businesses support an open platform approach in terms of rethinking how financial institutions around the world trade, optimise productivity and engage in knowledge sharing.

In closing, the partnership between IPC and Overbond enables the integration of IPC’s point-of-trade voice transaction data with Overbond’s AI pricing and liquidity algorithms to bring precision to the automation of bond trades.

As a result of this ‘need for speed’, companies, big and small, have been developing technologies to speed up and smooth out the end-to-end customer experiences for financial services and insurance (FSI).

Artificial intelligence (AI) is key in this space, with machine learning enabling everything from automated saving and investing to speedy customer service. Despite this, traditional banks have been slow to adopt these new technologies, leaving them lagging in customer experience. In this article, we’ll explore 3 ways AI-powered tech can help FSI businesses enhance their customer journeys.

1. Increased personalisation

Research shows that personalisation is the key to customer retention. This is because personalisation (in both communication and product offering) increases engagement – and engaged customers are more likely to buy products or services. In fact, 80% of people are more likely to purchase from a company that offers personalised experiences. And when it comes to FSI, engaged customers stay loyal for up to 4 years longer than unengaged ones.

Banks can use AI-enabled technology to offer smarter recommendations based on people’s previous interactions. These digital solutions can also analyse consumer engagement to pick the best time to offer products, increasing the likelihood of up-selling and cross-selling. By using AI, banks can use their wealth of customer information to tailor every communication and every offer, maximising conversion rates and demonstrating to consumers that they’re more than just another number.

2. Faster decision making

Financial products and services hinge on credit and background checks, which can be time-consuming to carry out. These slow processes can frustrate customers and increase drop-out rates.With AI, FSI businesses can automate key decision-making processes and cut down on wasted time. AI solutions allow lenders to make smarter underwriting decisions based on a wide range of factors – and make these decisions much faster. Whether it’s giving customers an automatically calculated chance of approval, quickly assessing premiums based on risk factors, or granting instant approval to existing customers who meet criteria – AI makes it much easier for customers to take out financial products.

3. Improved security

FSI is tightly regulated, which means security is paramount. Not only can a breach lead to hefty fines, but it can also erode trust, which can be a death sentence. Because of this, traditional banks have typically relied on seeing physical proof of identification when people open accounts, withdraw or transfer large sums of money, or take out insurance products. But this approach simply isn’t suited to our modern lifestyle. Customers have neither the time nor inclination to walk into a branch with multiple copies of old utility bills. And even if they did, Covid has meant many physical locations are unavailable.

The good news is that security in the digital world is robust. Two-factor authentication and biometric recognition are quick and easy ways for banks to enforce security and speed up digital identification and verification (ID&V) processes. Biometrics are essentially impossible to forge, and two-factor authentication adds an extra security layer, giving businesses and customers alike peace of mind.

This AI image recognition technology can also be used to verify digitally uploaded documents, speeding up the customer experience without compromising security. 

AI is increasingly integral to the world we live in, and the finance industry needs to implement these technologies to stay relevant and meet customers’ high expectations. Fortunately, despite a slow start, most banks recognise this need to modernise. 80% acknowledge the benefits of AI, 46% plan to implement it in the near future. Success then hinges on a holistic implementation approach, with banks focusing on joined-up processes and data.

To learn more about implementing AI, download Engage Hub’s whitepaper on balancing customer trust and security while using AI to improve customer experience

About Engage Hub:  

Every customer is unique. Engage each one.

At Engage Hub, it’s our mission to make sure your business treats your customers as individuals to engage each and every one, so you win them over faster and keep them for longer.

With over 30 years in the business, our services have evolved alongside the needs of our clients, including some of the world’s most successful brands across the financial services, utilities, telecoms, retail and logistics sectors. We understand the challenges you face - from data silos to legacy systems – and have built intelligent, intuitive and effective solutions that work for you.

Our commitment to excellence has helped us build a reputation as the leading global provider of data-driven consumer engagement and customer retention solutions. At a time when brand loyalty is at an all-time low, our data orchestration technology delivers the kind of experiences your customers have now come to expect. So, you can always keep them engaged and happy.

Get in touch: 

sales.enquiries@engagehub.com
+ 44 (0) 80 0088 5662 

Implementing technological solutions to your business is one of the best and smartest ways for you to save money. The world is filled with companies trying to sell you the latest and most innovative methods for you to use their technology within your operations, so it is difficult to decide what is best for your business. The following are five ways technology can save your business money.

Fleet Safety Programme

If you are running a logistics operation, the safety of your fleet and keeping down costs will be some of your largest concerns. Building a video-based fleet safety programme is a way to reduce costly accidents, avoid false claims and save money. Real-time footage can be used to provide drivers with effective training and address any bad habits they may have. Potential legal costs are also a worry for any fleet, and with this system, you will mitigate all risks as you have easily accessible evidence should any legal problems arise. You can review a guide online that will answer all your questions and show you how to implement a video-based fleet safety programme.

AI

The use of artificial intelligence is one of the smartest ways to reduce your business costs. Machines are now able to do many of the menial, repetitive tasks that were often given to low skilled workers. Using AI will save you on the costs of employing workers whose tasks can easily be done by computers. You can use that money to invest elsewhere in your business and employ people who are highly skilled and bring value to your company.

Marketing

If you want the best marketing solutions, you are going to have to invest in technology. Beware of some of the biggest marketing mistakes you can make if you do not research properly. Despite this initial investment, in the long term, your business will reap the rewards of having a more effective marketing strategy. There is software available that can help you with the analytical side of marketing. This is especially useful for social media marketing where analytics are a crucial aspect. You will be saving money on employees while also increasing your profits by having more effective marketing campaigns. 

Remote Working

Remote working has come to the forefront of working practices. In the current, pandemic influenced world, businesses have had to find ways to allow their employees to work effectively from home. Remote working has been the solution and it has the added benefit of reducing overall costs. Office space can be reduced as it may no longer be needed and workers are more productive when working from home. Assess whether you really need certain employees in your physical office, if not, remote working is the answer.

Training

Technology provides an abundance of training opportunities. Video conferencing allows you to connect to anywhere in the world which reduces the costs of having to pay to bring an expert to your business. There are vast amounts of resources available, too. Some training videos are available for free, and learning resources are easily available for certain skills such as new languages. Using these training resources will save you money and reduce your operating costs so use them to their full potential.

Wayve claims a “world first” in driving a vehicle autonomously with only its AI and a SatNav, possessing the ability to adapt to new, unstructured, and highly complex urban environments. Wayve vehicles can apparently operate without the need for pre-programming, human-designed rules, or high definition mapping. 

To date, the startup has raised over $58 million, backed by Balderton Capital, Eclipse Ventures, and prominent leaders in tech such as Rosemary Leith, Yann LeCun, and Sir Richard Branson. 

Wayve is headquartered in London, with its fleet of vehicles testing in cities across the UK. Its collaboration with Ocado includes an autonomous delivery trial that will see Wayve’s technology fitted onto a selection of Ocado’s delivery vehicles. The trial will take place on urban delivery month and will last for 12 months. 

The collaboration marks Ocado’s second self-driving partnership this year. In April, the groceries company took a £10 million stake in another UK-based company, Oxbotica, to build self-driving vehicles for itself and others who use its platform. 

If Web 2.0 took the world by storm by transitioning from the original “read/write” internet model to an interactive medium, where information transfer became a two-way street and social media platforms emerged, Web 3.0 will blur the conventional lines between the digital and physical realms, through the advancement of artificial intelligence, distributed ledger technology, virtual reality and decentralised data networks. But perhaps even more strikingly, the web’s latest evolution may very well prove to be a leap forward towards a truly open and democratised digital landscape.

A closer look at Web 3.0

As we cross the threshold into the Web 3.0 era, users should prepare to enter a web dimension where the people, places and physical aspects of life as we know it break into the virtual world. Through the integration of virtual and augmented reality technologies, Web 3.0 will incorporate a third dimension to users’ browsing experience, enabling immersive interactions. More importantly, its evolution has the potential to redefine the way we experience the world. What was already a vital tool of human interaction, undeniably embedded in our everyday environment is on the verge of becoming even more indispensable.

To put it simply, websites have been gaining more and more features over the years. The once static webs that defined Web 1.0 led the way to the so-called “Social Web”, which enabled richer methods of user interaction. The term Web 3.0, coined by The New York Times reporter John Markoff in 2006, refers to the third generation of the web, which is deeply reliant on the use of machine learning and artificial intelligence (AI).

Often defined as an ‘intelligent’ internet, it aims to facilitate faster, ubiquitous connectivity. Astutely built upon extraordinary technological innovations, the next stage of the web evolution will operate on a machine-based understanding of data, capable of processing information with near-human-like intelligence. The projected outcome is a breakthrough towards a decentralised web space where content creation and decision power is shared by human and artificial intelligence alike.

Paving the way towards a decentralised gateway

“It's hard to overstate the impact of the global system he created. It's almost Gutenbergian.” — Time Magazine

In 1991, British software scientist Tim Berners-Lee radically changed the course of technology with his development of the World Wide Web. At the time he was working at the European Organisation for Nuclear Research in Geneva and realising the challenges of navigating and sharing research between thousands of scientists across incompatible computers. His creation was developed to enable the automated exchange of information on a global scale between scientists and organisations. Indeed, the first-ever web page described the project’s mission as a way “to give universal access to a large universe of documents.” 

Web 3.0 in many ways signifies a return to the original web Berners-Lee conceived, where there is no central authority presiding over what is shared, by whom and when; his vision defiantly emboldened by the principles of data sovereignty, universality and decentralisation.

With blockchain technology at its core, it is the driving force powering the possibility of a decentralised infrastructure that could in time displace Web 2.0’s existing centralisation at the hands of tech giants, rendering the role of major search engines and platforms as ‘gatekeepers’ irrelevant in the future ecosystem.

Understanding the impact of a Web 3.0 environment

As internet consumers, individuals have become accustomed to the give-and-take rules of navigation, such as the invasive surveillance, collection and commercialisation of personal data at the hands of tech giants as well as the increasingly exploitative advertising users face.

The exponential growth of the Internet interconnections has also led to increased security vulnerabilities for individuals and businesses. But what if users were given a choice of operating in a decentralised web environment and forever eradicating the looming threat of cyber risk?

Enter Web 3.0.

We’ve talked about how the rise of distributed ledger technology has fuelled the next dimension of the Internet, but more importantly, the collaborative, transparent and open-source attributes that define blockchain have allowed for a paradigm shift towards an online environment characterised by self-sovereignty, autonomy and decentralisation. 

The disruptive potential of Filecoin is a key example of the ecosystem heralded by Web 3.0. Filecoin’s ethos is defined as a decentralised storage network designed to store humanity’s most important information. In other words, this transformative technology has the potential to catalyse the restoration of user trust and revolutionise the way individuals and businesses share, store and move their data in an online environment.

While we may not know with exact certainty what the Web’s latest phase will look like in the near future, behind the scenes change is happening and it won’t be too long until tech disruptors manage to re-route the trajectory of the web’s evolution to its original decentralised architecture in their quest for a fairer internet.

Chris Starkey is the founder and director of NexGen Cloud, which is on a mission to bring cheap affordable cloud computing to all. London-headquartered NexGen Cloud is working with Cudo Ventures to disrupt the cloud compute market. With data centre operations established in Sweden and Norway, the company is able to deliver infrastructure-as-a-service cloud computing that is cheaper and greener than the mainstream providers. NexGen Cloud also provides opportunities for investors to access the cloud sector, giving them the chance to share in the growth of the market sector by investing in compute power.

The ultra-low interest rate environment and fee compression in areas like payments continue. Competition from challengers and fintechs is intensifying. Customer digital adoption has grown, and the bar of expectation continues to rise.

The impediments to change that traditional banks face are not going away - high cost-bases, inflexible and complex legacy technology estates, and operating models that lack customer-focus and agility.

Banks face the imperatives of increasing and diversifying revenues, optimising costs and increasing business agility. In this article, Simon Hull, Head of Financial Services at BJSS, looks at the revenue challenge and why smart use of digital technology is the key to success.

Revenue drivers

Banks are looking to win new customers, retain and maximise business from existing customers and diversify the traditional deposit and lending business with fee-based products and services. Some of the key elements banks are focusing on in this respect are customer experience, customer intelligence, and product and service range.

Customer experience is a battleground and competition is intense. Last year's Ipsos Mori poll has Monzo and Starling coming out ahead on many customer service metrics. Digital channels are becoming primary. Customers are attracted to slick and intuitive digital experiences and expect increasingly personalised service as banks learn more about them.

However, the empathetic human touch is still essential, as is the consistency of service across in-person, phone and digital channels. Customers want the choice of channels to use for different tasks, and preferences differ across demographics. The brand experience is just as significant, with social and environmental responsibility top of the list. The combination of service and brand will drive loyalty and recommendations.

Customers want the choice of channels to use for different tasks, and preferences differ across demographics.

Customer intelligence is about gaining a deep, holistic and continuous understanding of the customer - their needs, behaviours, preferences and influences. With this, a truly customer-centric operating model can be created - one where product and service development, marketing, distribution, and customer service are aligned and evolve alongside the customer. This enables a broadening of the relationship to maximise customer wallet share by tailoring to their needs to build multi-product relationships.

Banks need to assess their current product and service range, consider discontinuing low volume or low profitability products, and ensure the rest are available on their digital channels. In parallel, banks must move to an agile product and service development model to enable rapid innovation based on customer intelligence. This will help sustain and protect revenues as needs change and diversify into fee-based products, as many major banks are doing in areas such as financial advice, wealth management, insurance, point-of-sale financing and subscription models.

Digital technology solutions

Digital technologies, used in the right way, hold the key to delivering these three revenue drivers.

Investing in user-centric design is critical for banks to understand customer needs, jobs to be done and interaction preferences. Web and mobile digital technologies power responsive and real-time banking apps, compelling user journeys and more frequent interactions and alerts. They are also a critical source of customer data which can be used to refine interactions and develop new products and services iteratively. Banks should move their full product and service range onto their digital channels, and also focus on customer education and self-service. The same technology can be used to digitally enable branch and call-centre staff, creating more informed and rich customer interactions.

Data and AI is really the heart of digital customer-facing banking. Capturing and combining datasets involves both making the vast troves of data stuck in siloed legacy systems available, capturing real-time customer data from digital platforms and also bringing in additional third-party sources. AI can be used to join the dots and identify patterns to better understand and predict needs, which can drive timely interactions and personalised products and services. It also enables a better understanding of personal situation and risk, prerequisites for new services such as wealth management and insurance. Broadening the model of the customer extends the opportunity to establish multi-product relationships. This generates more interactions and data, so a cycle of continual analysis and innovation is formed.

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AI capabilities can also be combined with RPA to enable Intelligent Automation of many customer service tasks such as standard enquiries that can be handled by conversational AI. Highly responsive, accurate and information-rich conversational interfaces improve the customer experience. This in turn, enables staff to provide a better customer service by focussing on personal service and higher value or more complex needs.

Cloud is a crucial enabler of much of the above in several ways. The inherent agility of cloud-based services enables rapid innovation and the delivery of new services and features through microservices. Elastic scalability enables the platform to adapt to usage expansion and maintain responsiveness under high load. Native out-of-the-box data and analytics capabilities will accelerate the AI journey. The fast provisioning of new environments supports an agile product development methodology.

For traditional banks, legacy modernisation must feature in the digital change programme. Legacy systems can negatively impact the speed and cost of change. Modernisation must be prioritised, and iterative strategies applied such as facading systems behind APIs, breaking out elements of monoliths as standalone reusable services and cloud migration. Legacy systems contain critical data that is needed to build a holistic customer view. Modernisation of the change function to a customer-centric agile model is a broad enabler for all revenue-generating activity.

Conclusion

The industry is at an inflection point, and banks face a considerable challenge to drive revenue opportunities. The key to success is precision of focus on business goals and aligning the right digital technology combinations to deliver on the customer experience, customer intelligence and rapid product and service innovation goals. Banks are at different stages on this journey, and of course, revenue must also come with profitability. Hence, costs are another challenge that must be faced in a similar way.

The present invoicing and billing technologies were developed to manage the payment processes for businesses. Paper invoicing remains a popular option for several companies in the United States. But the majority of them have shifted to electronic methods of billing and invoicing.

The country was lagging far behind to adopt the technological advancements in electronic invoicing compared to Europe and Latin America. However, the current trends have revolutionised electronic billing and invoicing for the past couple of years.

These advancements are responsible for the gaining popularity of the current invoicing and billing technologies. Let’s see how technology has shaped the way businesses in America send bills and invoices to their clients.

Automation of the Invoicing Process

The automation of the invoicing process has reduced the need for companies to track their financial transactions. Most companies in the United States have stopped using paper bills. Even those companies that have not automated their entire billing process prefer using blank invoice templates for service providers

Automation of the process enables organisations to get reminders for due dates and delays in receiving payment. It has also helped companies in the country stay on track with their billing and payment schedules.

Automating the manual responsibilities of creating and sending bills allows business owners and staff to focus on other essential tasks. Companies can also save money because they do not require additional staff to take care of these responsibilities.

Several companies have also adopted blockchain technology to streamline their billing and invoicing processes. It allows them to keep a record of all their financial transactions. It also eliminates the need for additional resources or third-party vendors.

Automating the manual responsibilities of creating and sending bills allows business owners and staff to focus on other essential tasks.

Blockchain technology has not only made financial management smoother but has also improvised the entire invoicing process. The technology prevents any manipulation or accidental deletion of invoices once they are recorded and sent to the client, thereby eliminating the risk of fraudulent activities.

With the gradual adoption of blockchain technology in American businesses, we have started noticing the decline in traditional invoicing systems.

AI and Machine Learning

The advancements in AI and machine learning technology have taken the automation of invoicing solutions up a notch. Most software providers can offer a holistic approach that features functionalities beyond the basic invoicing cycle.

The intervention of AI and machine learning unlocked humanly unimaginable software abilities. Companies can process hundreds of invoices in a short time while processing significant amounts of financial data.

It is also easier to identify or verify past transactions, which gives the business better control over their cost and supply chain. Using AI and machine learning technology can also spot anomalies and errors with the least amount of human intervention.

Cloud Invoicing

With the increase in the use of the Software as a Service (SaaS) model, most billing technologies have started operating from the cloud. They allow businesses to access financial records and data from a device connected to the Internet anywhere in the world.

Cloud-based invoicing also enables people to receive real-time business updates and take the required action. Business personnel can address any urgent issues with the payment in real-time to maintain their company’s reputation. Digital wallets have also become a part of cloud invoicing already.

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Most business owners and managers can access cloud invoicing through mobile apps these days, which has made the process extremely convenient. With the increase in remote working due to the COVID-19 pandemic, most companies have started relying on cloud-based software instead of traditional ones.

In the present times, any company that fails to provide mobile billing options is bound to lose valuable clients.

The Rise of Real-Time Global Payments

Gone are the days when companies had to wait for days or weeks to send invoices and receive payments. Every business expects real-time transactions these days. The COVID-19 pandemic affected the economy of the entire world, so businesses need their money in real-time.

That is why most companies rely on electronic billing and invoicing processes, as they tend to be faster and more accurate than the manual ways of raising a bill or sending an invoice.

Businesses of every size have started adopting electronic invoicing because they reduce the cost and increase efficiency. As we mentioned before, most countries in Europe and Latin America had already started using electronic invoicing before America. Therefore, to continue business relations with these countries, American companies have to adopt electronic billing and invoicing methods.

Modern billing and invoicing methods have enabled American companies to build better business relationships within the country and the world. With increased productivity, companies can save costs and time.

The present billing and invoicing technologies played a prime role in mitigating the challenges faced during the COVID-19 pandemic. We can expect the technology to progress further and increase productivity while reducing losses.

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