The application of artificial intelligence (AI) was the focus of the debate at the Futuro Banco Sabadell Dialogues with 'La Vanguardia', in which the deputy general director and director of Marketing, Customers and Savings-investment of Banco Sabadell, Manuel Tresánchez, participated; the director of Banking, Insurance, Education and Security at Google, Sergio Torrijos; the Managing Director of Financial Services at Accenture Song, Blanca Pons, and the leader of creative excellence at Ipsos Spain, Toni Seijo.
In the session, “Connecting with the future: digital banking and transformation of the customer experience”, the experts agreed that AI will allow banks to improve their relationship with customers, while generating new challenges, including that pointed out the bias of algorithms, cybersecurity or digital divides.
In parallel to the development of this technology, Tresánchez highlighted the importance of betting, increasingly, on “a hybrid model, with digital channels for everyday life and face-to-face for those moments when the client requires expert attention.” This omnichannel is key for consumers, stated Blanca Pons, who revealed that for almost 90% a personalized experience is “fundamental, regardless of where the customer is,” which “requires that the bank knows them, regardless of whether the channel It is digital or offline.”
To gain the trust of customers, Tresánchez highlighted the importance of “empathy, of treating customers as we like to be treated, for example, allowing them to try us at no cost.” With this objective of achieving customer trust also in the digital field, he explained that Banco Sabadell has launched “a completely free online account without any contract or permanence requirement.”
According to the latest Global Trends study by Ipsos, “60% of the population fears that technology will end up destroying their lives”, a figure that before the pandemic was 38%. Furthermore, Toni Seijo stressed that the need to “build trust” is increasing since “more than 70% want to have a simpler life” so “technology should help them.”
Regarding the digital behavior of users, Torrijos revealed that the technology company's reports show that users of financial services "look for specific brands to deposit their money, while to request loans the brand is residual." Another fact to take into consideration is that “there is a lot of trust in the search for information, but when there is a transaction there is more distrust.”
Regarding the ability to respond to these consumer requirements, Torrijos warned that “immediacy in digital processes is essential.” However, it also "increases impulsivity", which is why Tresánchez sees it as necessary for banking operations to "respect the timing", giving as an example the 10 days of prior information before taking out a mortgage.
Regarding presence, although the majority of users between 25-54 years old only go to the offices for issues that cannot be resolved in the online channel, according to Google data, “70% of banking users prefer to have a bank branch close to his home,” Pons added. And, despite technological advances in areas such as voice and image that allow digital chatbots to be humanized, Tresánchez emphasized that “the personal relationship is hardly replaceable.”
Generative AI represents a “disruption” that will allow “the online channel to be further improved,” in Torrijos' opinion. “Since ChatGPT it has been democratized,” Pons recalled. In the case of banking, he specified that artificial intelligence facilitates the “improvement of efficiency in processes and user experience.” And as information, he provided that his trend studies predict that by 2030 “30% of interactions between banks and clients will be through generative AI chatbots.” The technology will allow “working with immense amounts of data and personalizing services,” Seijo also celebrated.
“Technology must be subordinated to shared values and not the other way around,” said Seijo. Tresánchez warned about the “relentlessness” of the machines, therefore, he concluded that, in addition to taking advantage of the opportunities they offer to provide better customer service, it is also essential to make responsible use of new technologies.
