Financial Institutions See Technology More Than Ever as Key Differentiator in Customer Experience

Standard Chartered Bank, Citi, Santander Germany, Crédit Mutuel, Conseil National Stratégique de l’Intelligence Artificielle, France FinTech, OCBF and Engine by Starling to join ISG TechXchange: BFS in Paris

Banking and financial services firms are navigating macroeconomic disruption, competition and cyber risks by leveraging technology to deliver unique, secure, personalized user experiences, say experts with Information Services Group, a leading global technology research and advisory firm.

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“Agile use of technology enabled these institutions to navigate the pandemic and it is now enabling them to meet consumer demands for new digital assets, personalized services and security, while demonstrating their shared commitment to social values.”

ISG and other leading industry experts will explore how banking and financial services (BFS) institutions can harness data, automation and AI to differentiate their services; deliver seamless, personalized customer experiences; integrate change management and mitigate risk, at the ISG TechXchange: Banking and Financial Services event, September 19 and 20, at Les Jardins de Saint-Dominique in Paris. Featured speakers include executives with Standard Chartered Bank, Citi, Santander Germany, Crédit Mutuel, Conseil National Stratégique de l’Intelligence Artificielle, France FinTech, OCBF, Cognizant and Engine by Starling.

“High-performing firms in the BFS industry are seeing opportunities even in times of macroeconomic and market upheaval,” said Colas Truong, ISG partner and host of the event. “Agile use of technology enabled these institutions to navigate the pandemic and it is now enabling them to meet consumer demands for new digital assets, personalized services and security, while demonstrating their shared commitment to social values.”

As much as 10 percent of consumers say they would switch their business if their bank were not sufficiently ESG-focused, Truong said.

Banking customers and institutions are also focused on cyber risks. Customers are examining which financial institutions are behind crypto-related services and new digital assets to determine if they are a safe form of investment and trading. At the same time, nearly 80 percent of global banking and financial services executives who responded to the recent ISG Cybersecurity Buyer Behavior Study said emerging technologies like AI and machine learning are a top-three challenge.

Finding a balance between a frictionless customer and employee experience and robust security processes will be the topic of a panel discussion, “Strengthening Cybersecurity in Banking and Financial Services,” featuring Roger Albrecht, ISG partner and co-lead of ISG Cybersecurity; Frederic Malicki, chief technology officer for the SECEMEA region with Atos-Eviden, and Alexis d’Arvieu, director general, Office de Coordination Bancaire et Financière (OCBF).

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In another session, Paul Sweeney, solution architect at Engine, the software-as-a-service platform that powers Starling Bank, and ISG Lead Partner for Banking and Financial Services Owen Wheatley, will discuss whether banking as a service and the metaverse are “saviors” of banking growth or just hype, and how younger customers will impact ethics, data privacy and data ownership for these emerging technology-enabled channels.

In “Three Ways to Make Your Bank Future-Ready,” Jerome Dumaine, capital markets industry program lead for Cognizant, will detail the ways platforms and next-generation technologies deliver faster innovation, more efficient operations and sustainable business models. Separately, Alexandra Bensamoun, professor of law at Paris-Saclay University and member of the Conseil Stratégique de l’Intelligence Artificielle, recently established by Prime Minister Élisabeth Borne, will join ISG’s Truong in a conversation, “Developing Compliant AI Systems,” to discuss the social, technical and legal opportunities and challenges of adopting AI and the standards organizations should put in place.

Alain Clot, banking industry expert and president of France FinTech, a non-profit association with more than 800 members, will share his vision on artificial Intelligence in banking in an industry spotlight interview. Also, Alexandre Saada, group CFO, Crédit Mutuel Alliance Fédérale, will showcase the winning partnership between IT and the business, and recent advances and innovations the bank has implemented to optimize their back-office operations in a presentation, “Evolution or Revolution? The Future of Banking through the Eyes of a Consumer.”

Suzan Dixon, head of workplace for Europe and the Americas at Standard Chartered Bank; Rob Garlick, head of innovation, technology and the future of work at Citi, and Daniel Sechi, director of IT strategy at Santander Germany, will participate in the panel discussion, “Digital Tools to Foster Growth and Employee Experience,” to share the digital changes they have implemented to address the people side of change and foster improved employee experience, higher morale and increased productivity.

In the ISG Startup Challenge, four enterprises will compete against each other: Welcome Place, a community-driven neobank that offers innovative and inclusive financial solutions in Europe; Multiverse Computing, a leading quantum software company; Quandela, which develops full-stack optical quantum computers, and Bankr Club, a matching platform for bankers and entrepreneurs. They will pitch their innovative solutions to a panel of judges before the audience votes on which technology they would implement in their own organizations.

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