Pleased to address the audience at Future Fest. In my keynote, ‘AI in Finance’, I shared thoughts on the transformational role of AI & Open Banking in disrupting the financial sector.
To truly understand the altering power of AI in the dynamics of monetary landscape, it’s important to first acknowledge that today, conducting financial transactions is not just an option but an unavoidable essential element at both personal and business levels.
How we manage finances, from daily ride-hailing expenses to monthly salaries & bills, shapes our decisions & choices, thereby making right financial management a necessity.
AI clubbed with Open Banking helps us make better, more informed financial decisions based on data-driven trends.
But what exactly is Open Banking?
Simply put, hinging on the use of open APIs, it is a financial practice allowing third-party providers to access & share customers’ financial data with consent for enhanced services and innovation.
The result?
Ease in managing money, comparing products, making payments, & integrating financial services into your business operations.
AI, building on the large amounts of data made available by Open Banking, allows for tailored products to be offered by financial institutions & mitigates risk by detecting fraud & assessing creditworthiness.
How long will it take for this transformation to set-in?
The results are already showing globally. Just last year, in 2023, Open banking transactions reached as high as $56bn & are expected to rise even more sharply.
Nearly 100 countries have adopted or are considering adopting Open Banking in some form. Excitingly, Pakistan is among them.
With the State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) taking a revolutionary step in opening the Open Banking regulatory sandbox for public consultation, soon it will be made accessible to fintechs for testing their products. Once this regulation comes into place, the financial landscape of Pakistan will completely alter.
Open Banking not only offers incentives for fintechs & banks to collaborate but also presents a range of additional opportunities for Pakistan’s 5.3 million SMEs. These include overcoming credit issues by offering essential services like digital bookkeeping solutions. Consequent automation & real-time data implies cost-cutting & data-driven financial decision-making via AI.
At BenchMatrix, we're doing exactly that – building on our disruptive regtech, lending tech, AML & digital banking solutions, we are now working with clients across the globe in the space of Open Banking.
As we navigate these transformative trends, one thing is certain:
The future of finance is not only technologically advanced but intelligently powered.
With Banking 4.0, 2024 is the year of disruption where global financial landscape is all set to transform with Open Banking and AI.
Well done Arzish Azam & team for organising this fantastic event.