“Robo-advisers, if they are done well, can provide an improvement for the rest of us.” Alistair Haig, University of Edinburgh

When someone says robots, our first thoughts are machinery in a production line, driverless cars or odd gadgets to clean the house. However, robots go far beyond the manufacturing industry. But financial services? No way.

In fact, they are already here and paving the way. For example, you might have:

  • purchased a new style of mutual funds/investments where highly advanced data analytic robots figure out how to best invest and plan for your future.
  • downloaded an app from your bank to help you pay bills on time.
  • spoken directly to a computer long before you spoke to a customer service representative.

All of these technological disruptions will continue to transform how financial services does business. As technology continues to increase its role and importance in the lives of consumers, financial services will need to figure out how to keep up.

According to an American Marketing Association blog post, “financial services no longer have a monopoly on how consumers pay for their goods and services. According to a U.S. study conducted by Appinions, the three industry disruptors in the digital landscape are:

  • Device makers
  • Retailers and services
  • Payment services (mobile)

Their strength lies in understanding their consumers’ habits by aggregating data and leveraging it to develop solutions that are efficient and convenient for the end user. Financial services, on the other hand, are racing to keep up but compliance and regulatory issues have held them at bay.”

The advantages of effectively using robots and artificial intelligence outweigh their challenges. For example, robots can automate processes and workflows at speeds that far exceed human competency to increase efficiency and quality. Although, the major challenge that is holding the industry back is its lack of preparedness.

In a climate where even the simplest changes in a policy can take days and require the approval of 20+ people,  this disruption is going to come hard and fast. That’s why it’s critical that the industry takes a hard look at its current operations and start adapting to prepare for continued changes.

At Trindent, we love to solve complex problems to make it simple, efficient, cost effective for you so that you can be ready for the future.  Contact us to learn more.

This blog was written by Stephan Rajotte. Stephan is the Executive Vice President at Trindent Consulting in financial services. In his current role, he works with senior leaders to identify solutions to complex business issues. He also provides direction and leadership to the business development team.