Technology Is a Tool, Not a Solution

The question is not what impact will technology have on the banking industry, but rather how you can leverage the technology to solve your problems.

What is the role and position of AI in customer experience within the banking industry?

Well, to put it simply, AI must anticipate customers’ needs, and provide personalised experiences. However, financial institutions often overlook the value of a comprehensive AI strategy for customer experience. One essential step is to treat interaction between customers, services, and employees as one ecosystem, and to recognise how innovation development provides values to both customers and employees.

Where do you see the difference on the market when it comes to customers? What are the biggest challenges the banking industry needs to deal with right now?

Customers will only engage with real-time personalisation and have the desire to know what is trending. Brands that ignore this are going to get left behind. The banking industry now should perceive the world through the Generation Y lens – what drives them, what are their goals, challenges and skills. In short, be curious about these potential consumers.

What technology do you consider to have the biggest impact on the banking industry in the near future?

Technology is a tool, not a solution. This might explain why banking industry often utilises technology only for limited use cases. Firstly, understand the current and desired state, recognise the problem, i.e. why you are not at the desired state, design the solution, and then select technology that will help to best implement your solution. Never start with the tools! Thus, the impact is not what technology can do; it is what you generate from it.

Prior to joining Degussa Bank, Mohamed Oubbati was an Assistant Professor and Head of the NeuroBotik Research group at Ulm University, Germany. Then he spent time in Management & Consultancy at Microsoft-Accenture and Deutsche Telekom, where he introduced Intrinsically Motivated Conversational AI Systems & AI-Based Enterprise Architectures.
At Degussa Bank, M. Oubbati is leading the Chapter of Intelligent Customer Experience. His team is building Goal-Oriented Recommender Systems for Real-Time Personalisation. They build on the findings and methodologies from machine learning, multi-objective decision-making processes & curiosity‐driven recommendation strategy.