The Future of the Financial Services Industry
Niels Bohr, a Nobel prize winner, once said: "Prediction is very difficult, especially if it's about the future." This comment feels very relevant, especially when you look at the current financial service industry, where changes are happening at the turn of every year. Uncertainty and volatility surround us.
Due to these uncertainties, we've decided to prepare this article that tries to look at the future of the financial services industry. While fintech revolutionized the financial services industry, we now have different technologies that are shaping, and continue shaping, how we transact. Let us consider how Web3 technology is empowering decentralized finance, some of the changes blockchain technology is bringing to the industry, and how AI will impact future transactions.
Web3 Empowers Decentralized Finance
Also known as Web 3.0, this is the concept of the next generation of the web, where users will connect using power harnessed from smart contracts, blockchain, and decentralized frameworks.
When fully developed, Web3 will create an interconnected and open digital world while focusing on user ownership rights and privacy. Decentralized finance (DeFi), an open financial system distributed on blockchain architecture and ledgers, will also use Web 3.0 to offer different financial services directly to its users without dependence on traditional banking systems.
In other words, Web 3.0 will unlock the full potential of financial markets by creating trust among several parties and boosting asset liquidity to satisfy diverse financial needs.
Blockchain Technology in the Future of Finance
Blockchain technology is a structure that stores transactional records of the public in several databases, also referred to as a chain, in a network connected via peer-to-peer nodes. This type of storage is referred to as a "digital ledger," and anyone with access to this digital ledger can view the transaction but cannot edit it. Blockchain technology has the potential to significantly impact current and future financial services, offering several advantages.
Lower the Cost of Doing Business
The integration of blockchain technology into any business can help cut operational costs. This is achieved through multiple ways; by removing intermediaries such as payment processors and banks when transacting, businesses can save on transaction fees and other associated expenses. This will especially benefit small to medium-sized companies that may not have had access to traditional banking services.
Additionally, if you are searching for Kā izveidot e-komercijas uzņēmumu, you should consider integrating blockchain-based solutions. They can not only help streamline processes such as auditing and accounting, consequently reducing the time, money, and effort spent on manual processes. While some of these costs might seem negligible on a short-term basis, they may prove to be quite significant in the long run.
Streamlined Financial Processes
Integrating blockchain technology into the financial industry can streamline and modernize the current financial process. For example, sophisticated reconciliation tasks such as matching invoices and payments can be automated. In the process, the time and resources needed to complete these tasks can be reduced significantly.
Additionally, blockchain-based solutions can facilitate data and information sharing between multiple financial institutions, leading to an improved overview of the organization's finances. Consequently, this reduces manual errors and helps improve decision-making processes by offering a detailed analysis of financial performances.
Dynamic Risk Governance: A New Model of Digital Risk Control
Abbreviated as DRG (Dynamic Risk Governance), this is a new model capable of transforming risk management in dynamic operational businesses. Dynamic Risk Governance entails continuous risk identification, valuation, mitigation, and frequent strategy reviews. All these procedures are carried out to improve risk management outcomes and cut insurance costs.
To successfully implement Dynamic Risk Governance, a business entity must digitalize its processes, centralize data management, and analyze risk frequently. This way, it is able to establish a comprehensive view of risks in a business, ensuring effective risk management and efficient governance.
Generative AI: Boosting Productivity
Generative Artificial Intelligence isn't your regular AI. Backed by advanced language models, generative AI is changing how the financial industry is operating in big ways. To better understand how this technology is achieving this, you must first understand how generative AI works.
Generative AI uses sophisticated natural language processing (NLP) software to analyze data fed into it and produce new content. The data can be media videos, text, images, and more.
Generative AI can boost market forecasting and reporting, streamline operations, offer personalized customer support, and improve compliance and risk management. Businesses can use historical data to streamline these models and better understand how to optimize operations and enhance customer support services.
Companies can integrate generative AI into their finance system through Generative AI as a Component (GaaC) and Generative AI as a Service (GaaS). The former option is a module-based GAI that is incorporated into already established financial workflows. The latter gives a business direct access to ready-to-use generative AI tech.
Banking Beyond 2023
Data and technology continue to play vital roles across the financial industry. Robotic automation and AI will likely be the next big thing, with cryptocurrencies and blockchain growing and potentially becoming the mainstream. As financial institutions morph away from the traditional banking systems and barriers to entry continue to decrease, whether some Big Tech companies will be tempted to venture into the banking industry remains to be seen. This way, they can leverage their strengths (significant customer base, strong UX, and hyper-personalized services). The biggest challenge will lie in the regulators' hands, where they'll have to keep track of tech improvements to ensure the set minimum standards are met.
