In what ways will generative AI simplify Wealth Management and FS?

By Puja Sharma

These seismic shifts will drive the convergence of five key trends over the next 5-7 years: widespread integration, bespoke AI, data differentiators, AI-to-AI interactions, and its staying power.

Generative AI has garnered extensive attention in recent months for its startling ability to replicate human expression and produce human-sounding content. The latest edition of Mastercard Signals explores this new technology’s implications for the future of commerce — including its potential to strengthen customer engagement, create more efficient business operations, support software development and much more.

“Unlike other technologies that have seen hype cycles,” the report says, “generative AI exhibits clear use cases, has led to the creation of robust solutions, and is developing swiftly. New opportunities will continue to appear. This technology is poised to be transformative across nearly every sector.” That includes large enterprises, small businesses, banking, retail and travel.

Consumer and business demand for security, personalization, convenience and automation will likely be focus areas for generative AI users. For example, financial institutions will leverage it for personalized banking services, fraud detection and regulatory compliance. Gen AI is instrumental in risk mitigation, as it can generate synthetic data sets to test the efficacy of fraud detection algorithms. Retail and e-commerce companies can employ generative AI to optimize supply chains, bolster marketing efforts through hyper-personalization, improve measurement, and accelerate speed-to-market for new products and services.

Over the next five to seven years, expect widespread integration of generative AI, including specialised solutions for particularly data-sensitive sectors, and for the entities that hold critical data — and excel in securing it — to thrive. We may also see bespoke AI applications that use a single personalized AI bot to orchestrate other bots for AI-to-AI commerce, coordinating purchase, delivery and payment with little or no human intervention.

Today’s financial ecosystem is marked by its complexity, requiring interactions between institutions — including banks, insurance companies, investment firms and governmental entities — for taxation and property registration purposes.

Generative AI, in synergy with informed data consent protocols, could declutter and streamline these processes, effectively acting as a personal wealth manager with an encompassing view of an individual’s financial life. It can seamlessly integrate bank accounts, investment portfolios and small business accounts, and even interact with governmental revenue offices through Open Banking data methods. Gen AI also can bolster financial literacy and provide insights into best practices, essentially serving as a family wealth management office.

Envision a scenario where an AI-enhanced conversational engine helps formulate college savings plans, procure loans and implement financial strategies, including sophisticated ones that are typically beyond an individual investor. Generative AI’s personalized recommendations and expertise could empower people to navigate their financial lives more adeptly.

We expect generative AI to evolve considerably, but even in its nascent form, this powerful technology promises incredible opportunities when combined with human oversight. Safe usage depends on our collective actions as a global community. By embracing generative AI while addressing its risks and challenges, we can step into the future of commerce and make sure it influences the world for the better.

Key opportunities:

• AI could provide an encompassing view of an individual’s financial life with seamless integrations of bank accounts, investment portfolios, small business accounts, and interaction with government revenue offices through Open Banking methods.
• Specific use cases include bolstering financial literacy to provide insights into best practices, formulating college savings plans, procuring loans, and implementing financial strategies, including sophisticated investment options.