FinovateEurope 2024: Digital transformation, shifting customer expectations and Africa’s fintech growth
Influential figures from across the fintech industry assembled at the Intercontinental O2, London, for the final day of FinovateEurope 2024 on Wednesday.
Panellists discuss AI and digital transformation at FinovateEurope 2024
The conference came to a close with a day packed full of keynote addresses and enlightening panels, tackling several common themes such as trust in AI and the need for digital transformation and adaptability in the face of shifting consumer expectations.
Can we trust AI?
Digital transformation and the utilisation of generative AI were repeated topics over the day. One key consideration raised was the need to remain aware of the potential cybersecurity risks of AI when utilising the technology or developing new use cases.
During a panel consisting of several heads of innovation, Adam Lowe, chief product and innovation officer at US-based CompoSecure, claimed that there is still a way to go before the financial industry can be fully confident that AI will not accidentally gain access to confidential data and potentially leak said data.
“You don’t want to accidentally delete PII (personally identifiable information) internally, or worse leak to the public,” he says.
Marco Eijsackers, ING’s head of CIO office and tech strategy and transformation, adds that “we still can’t trust the accuracy of AI or where the source of the information is from, we still need to be prudent”. Eijsackers continued by stressing the importance of collaborating with a trusted partner when deploying the technology.
Nevertheless, Lowe argues that if banks can move past their “legacy mainframe systems” and incorporate AI tech that is capable of transporting private information securely within itself and between other financial institutions, then it will provide dramatic cost savings to the industry and improve customer experience.
“Change is the only constant we can rely on”
One of the most well-received addresses during the day was delivered by the consumer behaviouralist Ken Hughes, who spoke about the need for fintechs to adapt to ever-changing client expectations, or else they run the risk of becoming “floppy disks” – in other words, redundant.
Fintechs face the challenge of having to develop products that engage with all six generations. Hughes identifies Gen Z as the first “truly digital generation”, who expect services to be efficient and to come to them.
He describes them as the “blue dot consumer” – the “pulsing centre point around which everything must revolve” – asking, “Why would anyone flag a cab when Uber will deliver straight to your door?”
Hughes adds that personalisation is key for fintechs and banks when it comes to attracting and retaining these customers. “It’s people first, not product first. The customer wants to feel special,” he states, concluding that firms must go “beyond satisfaction” and lead customers to the “delight space”.
Crypto to drive Africa’s fintech growth?
During a fireside chat, Brett Magrath, chief product officer (CPO) at Chipper Cash, revealed the factors driving the current and future fintech growth in Africa, the world’s fastest-growing fintech market.
Magrath believes that Africa is in a prime position to take advantage of what fintech has to offer due to its increasingly digitally literate population, improving social mobility and the continent’s willingness to embrace new technology.
He further suggests that it is in crypto where he can see fintech making a significant difference for emerging markets across Africa.
Magrath states that the continent encounters challenges in accessing and efficiently circulating dollars – “I think crypto is something that solves that,” he argues.
As a piece of advice for those looking to tap into the African market, Magrath states that firms must have an “understanding of what resilience and chaos is about”.
“The ability to thrive in chaos is something that in Africa is embedded in you. You need to build your business case and model to handle that,” he concludes.
To gain deeper insights into the African fintech landscape, tune in to our recent episode of the What the FinTech? podcast discussing the topic.
