{"id":156569,"date":"2025-11-24T06:06:09","date_gmt":"2025-11-24T06:06:09","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/156569\/"},"modified":"2025-11-24T06:06:09","modified_gmt":"2025-11-24T06:06:09","slug":"your-bank-is-already-using-ai-but-whats-coming-next-could-be-radically-new","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/156569\/","title":{"rendered":"Your bank is already using AI. But what\u2019s coming next could be radically new"},"content":{"rendered":"

In June 1967, the world\u2019s first \u201cautomated teller machine\u201d or \u201cATM\u201d was unveiled<\/a> at a branch of Barclays Bank in north London in a grand ceremony.<\/p>\n

That very first system looked a bit different<\/a> to the one we know and use today. But almost six decades later, it\u2019s hard to imagine a world where people could only withdraw cash during banking hours. <\/p>\n

Now, in Australia and around the world, banks are placing enormous bets that a new kind of automation will transform their business model: artificial intelligence (AI).<\/p>\n

On Monday, Bendigo Bank announced<\/a> it had signed a multi-year agreement with Google to use the tech giant\u2019s Gemini Enterprise AI platform to assist with a range of tasks, including assessing loan applications and detecting fraud.<\/p>\n

It follows a major deal between Commonwealth Bank and OpenAI, announced in August<\/a>, to \u201cbring advanced AI to customers and employees\u201d. <\/p>\n

What does the future of banking hold \u2013 and who is responsible for managing the risks?<\/p>\n

Some big changes have already happened<\/p>\n

Banks have already been quietly deploying AI tools over many years to help with a range of tasks. If you have engaged with a chatbot recently, you have more than likely engaged with AI. <\/p>\n

Currently, AI is helping banks and employees make decisions<\/a>. It is scanning for fraud and scams<\/a>, assessing credit scores, supporting trading and investment activities, and handling routine, time-consuming tasks. <\/p>\n

That warning from your banking app about a dodgy transaction? Most likely AI. The suggestion the caller claiming to be from your bank might be a scammer? Likely AI again.<\/p>\n

At Commonwealth Bank alone, AI tools have reportedly helped cut customer scam losses by half<\/a> and slashed call centre waiting times<\/a> by 40%. <\/p>\n

The banks leading this charge aren\u2019t just Australian. US investment bank JPMorgan, for example, has developed its own proprietary AI platform<\/a>, LLM Suite, which has reportedly been rolled out across its business lines to help staff with a wide range of tasks. <\/p>\n

\"A<\/a><\/p>\n

Bendigo Bank has inked a deal with Google to roll out Gemini Enterprise across its business lines.
\n Kelly Barnes\/AAP<\/a><\/p>\n

What\u2019s coming next<\/p>\n

A recent report<\/a> on AI adoption by research firm Evident Insights found that currently, about 85% of banks\u2019 current usage of generative AI is internal, not client-facing. <\/p>\n

But the next wave of AI adoption could be fundamentally different. Instead of just helping humans work faster, the technology could be trusted to make decisions and take action on its own.<\/p>\n

This is called \u201cagentic AI<\/a>\u201d. While only some banks \u2013 such as Bank of New York Mellon<\/a> \u2013 have tested it, the early results are promising<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Recent research<\/a> by consulting firm McKinsey profiled the case study of one major global bank, which set up ten \u201cteams\u201d of AI agents to handle new customer applications from start to finish.<\/p>\n

These AI agents checked government registries, verified identities, screened for sanctions, and compiled reports. Humans only stepped in for unusual cases.<\/p>\n

The productivity gains? According to McKinsey<\/a>, while basic AI automation might make a team 15\u201320% faster, giving AI full control could theoretically boost output by between 200% and 2,000%. <\/p>\n

Hard lessons<\/p>\n

Australian banks are betting heavily on this future. But they\u2019re also learning painful lessons about the human cost. In July, 45 Commonwealth Bank call centre workers were told they\u2019d lost their jobs<\/a> after an AI chatbot was rolled out.<\/p>\n

Then in August, after a dispute was raised by the Finance Sector Union, the bank admitted the process could have been handled better<\/a> and reversed the job cuts in question.<\/p>\n

Despite the bank\u2019s backtrack, Commonwealth Bank Chief Executive Matt Comyn later told<\/a> a technology festival in October that making the most of AI \u201cneeds to feel urgent\u201d. He said leaders needed to take initiative, despite a temptation to sit back and follow. <\/p>\n

What does all this mean for the future of banking?<\/p>\n

The financial services industry is continuing to experiment with the best ways to use AI.<\/p>\n

One option is to create AI-powered financial coaches that proactively message customers with personalised savings tips<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Another being explored includes \u201cautonomous finance<\/a>\u201d systems that could manage your money with minimal input, optimising everything from bill payments to investment allocations. <\/p>\n

This means that, in the near future, AI systems could run entire banking processes on their own. Imagine applying for a loan at 2am and getting approved five minutes later, with AI handling every single step. <\/p>\n

What about the risks?<\/p>\n

The public expects banks to deploy fair, explainable and secure AI systems. But the technology is moving so fast that regulators are scrambling to keep up<\/a>.<\/p>\n

There\u2019s particular concern about algorithmic bias<\/a>. If AI learns from historical data reflecting past discrimination, it could perpetuate or even amplify unfair lending practices. <\/p>\n

For example, this could negatively affect borrowing ability for those historically seen as a \u201cbad investment\u201d.<\/p>\n

The banks themselves are responsible for any mistakes made by AI. Accountability cannot be outsourced to algorithms<\/a>. However, it is likely customers who will still feel the brunt of those mistakes. <\/p>\n

Banking is set to be fundamentally rewritten by AI, whether we\u2019re ready or not. That could mean cheaper, faster, more personalised banking<\/a>.<\/p>\n

But it also threatens jobs, raises privacy concerns and concentrates enormous power in algorithms most of us don\u2019t understand. <\/p>\n

As politicians turn up the heat on banks, the real test isn\u2019t whether AI can transform banking. It\u2019s whether that transformation will be fair and not just for the bottom line.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"In June 1967, the world\u2019s first \u201cautomated teller machine\u201d or \u201cATM\u201d was unveiled at a branch of Barclays…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":156570,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[20],"tags":[220,218,219,61,60,80],"class_list":{"0":"post-156569","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-artificial-intelligence","8":"tag-ai","9":"tag-artificial-intelligence","10":"tag-artificialintelligence","11":"tag-ie","12":"tag-ireland","13":"tag-technology"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/156569","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=156569"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/156569\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/156570"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=156569"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=156569"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=156569"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}