A recap: The financial side of things in 2023 by Globant

It was a dynamic and eventful 2023 for the world of finance technology. As the year draws to a close, we’re sharing the highlights, such as new trends, groundbreaking insights, and essential changes to be aware of to stay up to date in the ever-changing landscape of the finance industry. In this recap, we’ll revisit five key pieces that together, build a comprehensive overview of top information that emerged from the finance industry this past year.

1. A New Banking Era 

With AI taking center stage in 2023, we delved into how this technology is already changing the banking and financial services landscape in Globant’s report, Applied AI in Financial Services: A New Banking Era. 

Specialists from Globant’s Finance Studio share how the financial sector is increasingly adopting AI, enhancing services like hyper-personalization and fraud detection. Lander Gamboa Sanz, Director of the Finance Studio at Globant, underlines AI’s benefits in improving quality, efficiency, and speed. Mariano Andividria, VP of Technology at Globant, adds that “banks typically carry out all processes within the institution. However, to reap the fruits of AI, they must be open to working with external organizations.” 

AI applications in finance are vast and include different areas, such as risk management, customer experience enhancement, document processing, and regulatory compliance. However, one thing is clear: the future of banking will definitely rely heavily on AI for operational efficiency and innovation, and Globant is helping financial institutions play a crucial role in guiding them through AI integration, with solutions like Genexus and Fluentlab, indicating a significant shift towards AI-driven financial services. Learn about it by downloading our report, Applied AI in Financial Services: A New Banking Era. 

2. Money talks, and it focuses on AI

As part of our Applied AI efforts at Globant, we launched the Tech Talks series, including The Next Era of Finance: Harnessing the Power of AI, where we take the conversation of the transformative power of AI in the banking arena further. 

In this panel discussion, Globant’s industry experts Isa Goksu, CTO for UKI and DE; Celiana Carreño Hernández, Head of Product & VP of Tech; Juan Jose Lopez Murphy, Head of Artificial Intelligence at Globant, and Tamara Bernath, Head of Fintech at WaaSabi, a Globant Company reach into the transformative power of AI in enhancing customer experiences and risk management in finance. 

The experts address AI’s challenges in critical areas like KYC (Know Your Customer) and fraud prevention, emphasizing the importance of overcoming these hurdles to maximize AI’s potential. Listen to the full talk to comprehensively overview AI’s capabilities and challenges in reshaping finance sector dynamics.

3. Lending an ear to the AI financial revolution in Globant’s Unscripted Tech Podcast 

The third season of Globant’s podcast Unscripted Tech focused on AI’s impact across industries, with the second episode diving into what the role of AI represents in financial services. 

In the episode, AI in the world of finance, Lander Gamboa, Director of the Finance Studio at Globant, Rachel Armstrong, Studio Partner at Globant UK, and Carlos Gonzalez, partner of the Finance Studio at Globant, discuss how AI is opening the path for new solutions and bringing up critical challenges for financial institutions. 

Some main areas where AI is changing banking, for example, are process improvement, enhanced user experience, and security. They note the sector’s early adoption of AI, with recent advancements making these models more robust. A key emphasis is AI’s ability to process diverse data sources, offering a comprehensive customer understanding. Listen to the whole conversation here.

4. Generative AI is transforming Finance and Insurance

The financial and insurance sectors are experiencing significant transformation because of Generative AI (GenAI) and Large Language Models (LLMs), reshaping customer interactions and streamlining operations. With a projected market growth of €198.90 billion by 2030, GenAI is addressing challenges in these sectors, including competition and regulatory costs, by interpreting diverse data to create new content. 

Central to GenAI, foundation models enhance customer service, operational efficiency, and marketing, while LLMs improve customer interactions and knowledge management. GenAI capabilities extend beyond language, integrating data, sound, and image creation. Learn more in our blog post, Generative AI: The New Frontier in Finance and Insurance.

5. Open Banking and why it’s vital you know all about it

In the past few years the financial services industry has lived a technological transformation due to innovation, regulatory changes, and digital consumer demands, with open banking playing a pivotal role. 

Open banking aims to enhance financial competition and customer control over their data, facilitates financial inclusion, and allows the sharing of services and data to create new value in banking products.

Its implementation in Europe, under PSD2 regulation, has improved customer services, while in regions like Latin America and the US, it’s fostering financial inclusion and standardizing APIs. To learn more about the implementation of Open Banking and all the changes and advantages it brings, download our white paper, Open Banking, and its impact on traditional banking digital transformation here.