Although artificial intelligence has reached a pivotal moment in the banking sector, you won’t abandon in-person customer service in pursuit of efficiency. Instead, AI becomes another tool to calibrate and personalize service delivery. This is the central takeaway from the roundtable titled Digital transformation of the financial system and the role of artificial intelligence, organized by Prensa Ibérica and Grant Thornton during the I Finance Forum at the InterContinental Hotel in Madrid. (Source: Event organizers and participants cited during the forum proceedings, 2024).
The ability to process large data volumes helps bankers identify tailored solutions for each client. Pablo Reboiro, the general manager for Spain and Portugal at N26, summed up the dilemma: Who truly knows you — a manager you visit every six months or an algorithm that monitors your movements in real time? Reboiro posed the question after outlining how real-time data can shape financial decisions. (Source: N26 leadership remarks at the forum, 2024).
AI also plays a critical role in strengthening cybersecurity. This comes after the Redsys payment platform experienced outages and after the NoName57 incident involving Abanca, Bankinter, Caja Rural Group, and Cooperative Bank earlier this year. AI is presented as a tool to detect and deter financial crime, including fraud prevention. At N26, a model was developed to verify operational reliability and detect potential fraud, a response to the growing prevalence of digital banking. As one participant noted, financial crime always stays a step ahead. (Source: Panel discussions and company briefings, 2024).
Yet technology alone does not replace people. Ignacio Iglesias, the CEO of Andbank, stated that artificial intelligence will not replace personal relationships. Franck Vignard, CEO of BNP Paribas Personal Finance, added that the key lies in balancing technology with the human element. A dedicated team of three hundred staff is applying the technology to client management and collections after a pilot with ChatGPT produced impressive results. (Source: Leadership insights and pilot results presented at the forum, 2024).
This balance also matters in sensitive areas such as mortgages. In BNP Paribas Personal Finance, sixty percent of clients hold variable mortgages, which can raise payments by about three hundred euros monthly. A machine cannot replace empathy; AI can help predict patterns and risks, but decisions rely on the data provided. As Franck Vignard noted, the tool will be most useful for data transfer and handling routine operations, while human judgment remains essential for nuanced situations. Igor Garzesi, CEO of Banco Mediolanum, echoed the view that AI is a valuable aid for data handling and routine tasks, not a substitute for human oversight. (Source: Forum discussions and executive commentary, 2024).