Digital assistants, social media to be primary channels for banking by 2022

Digital assistants, social media and third-party channels are expected to be the primary channels for banking by 2022, apart from mobile and online, a report said Wednesday.

"After existing digital channels (mobile and online), digital assistants, social media and third-party channels are expected to be the primary channels for banking by 2022," as per the 10th annual 'Innovation in Retail Banking' report.

The report was launched Wednesday by Infosys Finacle, part of EdgeVerve Systems (a product subsidiary of Infosys) and Efma, a global not-for-profit organisation.

According to the report, close to half of the respondents believe that less than 40 per cent of the current workload would move to public cloud by 2022 and 70 per cent say that artificial intelligence (AI) is expected to have a significant impact in transforming customer service/support by 2022.

The research, in which over 300 banks participated globally, found that respondents see open banking APIs (application programming interface) as the top technology for the future of innovation, with it being stronger than 'emerging' areas such as machine learning, chatbots and RPA (Robotic Process Automation).

In the short term, banks will leverage open banking for compliance such as the Payment Services Directive (Europe), Unified Payments Interface (India) and New Payments Platform (Australia), it said.

The research also found that overall, organisations are taking a strategic perspective on the need for innovation ROI (return on investment). In 2017, 31 per cent of firms had an innovation ROI perspective of one year, compared to only 17 per cent this year. In addition, 63 per cent looked for an ROI in 1-3 years as opposed to 54 per cent in 2017.

Respondents believe that retail banks consider digital commerce platforms (such as Alibaba) and technology giants as the innovation leaders for 2022. Similar to previous years, the greatest impact of transformation is expected to be in the areas of payments, mobile wallets and lending in the next three years.

Vincent Bastid, CEO, Efma said, "In recent years, banking institutions have been facing disruption head-on, with advancements in customer service, personalization and mobile applications through a combination of Open APIs, AI and machine learning."

Sanat Rao, Chief Business Officer and Global Head, Infosys Finacle said, "The 10th edition of the Innovation in Retail Banking report strongly illustrates the pace at which the traditional banking model is evolving. The need to invest in a solid platform strategy focused on business benefits and more compelling experiences for customers, employees and partners is central to remain competitive.