A Bank That Doesn’t Embrace AI Will Not Be Relevant to Younger Generations, Says Exec

Artificial intelligence, combined with machine and man, is part of the smart banking Israel’s Bank Leumi offers its customers, according to Shay Basson, the head of Leumi’s technology division. Speaking Monday at Calcalist and Leumi’s Mind the Tech conference in Tel Aviv, Basson said that software giants integrate AI capabilities integrate into their services, but it is up to the banks to further develop and apply this technology.

Traditional banking is being challenged by companies like Google, Amazon, and Facebook, who now offer financial services as well, Basson said. That rivalry is compounded by regulatory reforms intended to increase transparency and competition in the industry. The newer generations of customers don’t go to banks but expect efficient, simple services provided digitally, which also complicates the cybersecurity risks traditional banks experience, he said.

That is why banks now have incentives to use AI, Basson said. If the first generation of AI in banking was mostly about efficiency, now it is also about leveraging data into insights that could be used to improve customer experience, he explained. Leumi also uses AI for prediction models and regulatory audits. “The use of AI technologies will grow exponentially,” he said. “Banks understand that a bank that doesn’t use AI and big data will find itself irrelevant to younger generations.”