Generative AI (GenAI) enables personalization in the fintech sector. This personalization allows for people-centeredness in areas where it is still lacking – but only if we set the right course now. Reflecting on the insights shared during the Singapore FinTech Festival 2023 Roundtable on Generative AI: The future of consumer financial protection, where PCI Co-Chair Mei Lin Fung participated as a speaker, we delve deeper into how GenAI could reshape financial protection strategies.
One of the most compelling benefits of GenAI is the potential for improved personalization of financial services. By analyzing individual consumer patterns, GenAI can provide tailored financial advice and services that were previously only available to the affluent. Personalized financial services can significantly improve the financial inclusion of previously excluded populations.
GenAI as creator and avoider of financial fraud
GenAI is able to mimic human behavior, making it a powerful tool for creating hyper-personalized and convincing phishing attempts. This raises concerns if increases in sophisticated financial fraud. The blurring line between real and artificial communication underscores the need for increased vigilance among consumers and financial institutions alike.
But GenAI also promises advances in fraud detection and risk management. Its ability to recognize patterns and anomalies that human analysts might miss enables a more proactive approach to financial security. Financial institutions can use GenAI to quickly detect and respond to potential threats, acting as a sentinel in the financial ecosystem.
Regulators can benefit immensely from the capabilities of GenAI. By using AI to monitor financial markets, regulators can gain faster and more accurate insights that enable them to respond more effectively to market manipulation or anomalies. This real-time monitoring can transform regulatory practices, making them more responsive and adaptive.
GenAI can also streamline compliance processes. By automating the analysis of large volumes of regulatory data, breaches can be detected more efficiently and the regulatory burden on financial institutions can be reduced. In addition, GenAI can support the development of new regulatory systems and processes by providing technical capabilities that were previously out of reach due to resource constraints.
But GenAI needs to be well trained with an immense amount of personal data. This raises questions about data security and privacy. Without well-organized data protection measures, the risk of data breaches and misuse increases. New organizational forms are needed like data cooperatives, where data ownership remains with the people organized within the data cooperative.
Charting the path to the future
Developing robust AI governance frameworks, improving AI literacy and encouraging innovation within safe boundaries are critical steps. This requires a concerted effort from regulators, financial institutions, technology experts, consumer advocates and the general public.
We are on the cusp of this new era, and our collective actions and decisions will shape the financial landscape for years to come. It is a journey full of challenges and opportunities that will require careful navigation guided by wisdom, foresight and a commitment to the greater good.
The Singapore Fintech Festival is the largest FinTech Festival in the world with more than 66,000 people and over 970 speakers from 150 countries. The speakers of the Roundtable on “Generative AI: The future of consumer financial protection” were:
Dr. Adrienne Heinrich Head of AI and Innovation Center of Excellence, Union Bank of the Philippines
Conan French Director, Digital Finance, Institute of International Finance (IIF)
Mei Lin Fung Co-chair, People Centered Internet
Ishan Mishra Principal – South Asia, Accion Venture Lab
Kosta Peric Deputy Director, Financial Services for the Poor, Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation
Kunal Chatterjee Vice President and Head of Innovation, Asia Pacific, Visa
Kwame Oppong Director, FinTech and Innovation, Bank of Ghana
Marina Dimova Global Director, Financial Industry & Network Advocacy, Women’s World Banking
Olivier Klein Chief Technologist Asia-Pacific, AWS
Sandrine Chabbey Policy Advisor & Attorney-at-law, State Secretariat for International Finance (SIF)
Suvendu Pati Chief General Manager, Reserve Bank India
Moderators:
Jo Ann Barefoot Founder & Chief Executive Officer, Alliance for Innovative Regulation (AIR)
Nick Cook Chief Innovation Officer, Alliance for Innovative Regulation (AIR)