With advancements in fintech becoming ever more frequent, people worry that banking could lose the human touch. Bankers should not be the only ones worried as many of the offerings on show at Finovate Europe this year could replace anyone of us. Here are a few examples.
Personal banker in your car
Have you ever been bombing down the M6 and wanted to chat to your wealth manager? Fear no more. Comarch presented an AI-enabled application for car dashboards that allows users to check their portfolio while parallel parking. You can manage your investments without interrupting your glare at a learner driver.
Nightclub bouncers
Bouncers will usually check your identification, match it up with your face, and make a decision. However, there could be more information in the hands of Clapham Infernos. Both HooYu and icar match your identity with a social media profile to make sure that you are who you say you are, but that you’re also as much of a legend as you say you are. If you’ve tweeted about your nice time with a couple of pints until midnight, come on in. If you’ve posted on Facebook about your blistering session until five in the morning, please step out of the queue.
General conversation with your friends and your children
A huge variety of chatbots were on display at Finovate Europe this year, from firms such as Moneyhub Enterprise, IT Sector, Dorsum, and Aixigo. With such a variety of chatbots in the marketplace, which countless sentences and responses programmed into the service, one never has to speak to a person again.
An interesting extension to this was Worldline Global’s Connected Piggy Bank. This physical piggy bank linked to an app and focused on financial education for younger consumers. No longer will parents need awkward conversations with their children on not spending their pocket money in one place. It also winks and says ‘thank you’ when you put money in, which is a great lesson.
