It was once said that the only things certain in life are death and taxes. That quote, however, is from a time when the idea of technology as it stands now – or even fifty years ago – was pretty hard to imagine.
These days, you could probably get away with altering that quote to fit in with the modern world. Something along the lines of ‘the only things certain in life are death, taxes, and the continual evolution of technology’.
From the outset, it seems like tech is constantly transforming or being replaced by the new and improved. Over the past few years, these changes have been especially notable, with our increasing reliance on digital technologies allowing tech like artificial intelligence, aka AI, to both advance and take centre stage.
Staying abreast of such tech trends is essential for any CTO, CIO or leaders who use digital technology in business operations (a high number of leaders, we assume…). In short, it’s not just about keeping up with the times, although that plays a big part – if you don’t stay ahead, you fall behind, after all.
Keeping on top of trends is also about leading the way. Whole sectors can be transformed by a business or several notable businesses committing to a new tech trend that changes the game entirely, leading to an industry shift in digital strategies. Take FinTech, for example; GenAI and embedded finance have had an impact on the sector as a whole, revolutionising the way financial services are delivered and optimising the customer experience.
Looking Beyond ChatGPT: GenAI in Fintech
For those who aren’t up to speed, GenAI, short for generative AI, is the latest phase in the ongoing AI revolution. It encompasses advanced machine learning models and natural language processing… think ChatGPT. GenAI is emerging as a pivotal tool for creators looking to generate original content, with a brief prompt resulting in full blog posts, social media posts and articles, to name a few.
When it comes to FinTech, GenAI is making waves, with companies leveraging GenAI in a number of ways. For example, GenAI can be used to test the scalability and reliability of applications, simulating how they would handle millions of records prior to being deployed.
GenAI also enables FinTech platforms to better understand customer preferences, behaviours and needs. Personalised solutions can be developed via GenAI tech, such as tailored investment strategies, automated budgeting advice, and intelligent chatbots for customer support.
As technology advances, so does the unfortunate risk of fraud within the FinTech sector. This is another scenario where GenAI is beneficial, as its advanced algorithms allow FinTech companies to enhance their risk-management processes and detect fraudulent activities more effectively. GenAI has the power to analyse vast amounts of data in real-time, identifying patterns and irregularities that we humans might just miss.
Finally, GenAI can help companies automate and streamline their operations. This is exciting stuff, given that automation is a key driver of efficiency in the financial sector. By using GenAI tech, companies can set routine tasks to automate, leading to a reduction in operational costs and enabling staff to focus on more complex and strategic activities.
Embedded Finance: The Future of Banking and Payments
Chances are you’ve encountered embedded finance in your day-to-day life, even if you didn’t realise or know, exactly, what embedded finance is. A quick explanation is the seamless integration of financial services into non-financial applications and platforms.
This trend is becoming increasingly popular, particularly here in Australia, with companies that deal with e-commerce and software-as-a-service (SaaS) jumping at the chance.
One crucial benefit of embedded finance is its ability to offer customers better financial experiences during their customer journey. Transactions become more convenient and seamless, permitting customers to complete their purchase without switching between different apps. The growth of Open Banking and the New Payments Platform, among other digital FinTech advancements, means that customers also have more options.
For instance, e-commerce businesses can go beyond credit card payments and instead use in-house or third-party tech to offer different payment methods based on the preferences of individual customers. This might include instalment payments or even a free trial, two services customers these days love.
GenAI Meets Embedded Finance
One question on your mind, having just read about two seemingly separate technologies, may be how does this all connect? Or is there even a connection between GenAI and embedded finance, beyond the FinTech backdrop?
The answer is yes, although it is not yet a fully-realised endeavour. But the convergence of GenAI and embedded finance is offering extremely promising results now, and holds immense potential for the future of FinTech. Their fusion enables a new era of intelligent, context-aware financial services that seamlessly adapt to users’ needs and behaviours.
For example, personalisation will become more efficient, with GenAI able to analyse user data from embedded finance applications to provide predictive analytics and recommendations. This could include investment advice, budget optimisation, and suggestions for financial planning.
Security, too, will see some great benefits. By incorporating GenAI algorithms, embedded finance applications can bolster security measures. One example is the detection of anomalies. Through machine learning algorithms, GenAI can determine baseline user behaviour and pick up when something isn’t quite right. Unusual transaction patterns, login attempts from unfamiliar locations, or abnormal spending behaviour, for instance, can trigger alerts.
While financial institutions already keep an eye on such things, GenAI can optimise the process and take swift action to mitigate any potential risks in real-time, creating a more secure financial environment for customers.
GenAI and embedded finance are doing their part to reshape the FinTech landscape, offering a glimpse into the future of intelligent, user-centric financial services. But they’re not the only tech trends making an impact on businesses in 2024 and beyond.
Here at Mondo, we are always interested in what tomorrow brings, and do our best to keep on top of trends currently making waves. Not only does this allow us to be better at our jobs, we also just find anything related to tech super interesting. And this interest has led us to create a handy little eBook called ‘5 Tech Trends to Watch for in 2024’. We believe it to be a useful read for CTOs, CIOs and other leaders, no matter your industry.
