Pipeline development now runs 20 times faster, and teams build new data products five times faster. The bank can create more than 300 AI models a day. \u201cWith the Databricks platform and the Azure OpenAI-powered assistant, we\u2019ve seen a 500% ROI,\u201d Stuart Emslie<\/a>, Discovery Bank\u2019s head of actuarial and data science, said in a Microsoft customer story<\/a> that carries the same figure.<\/p>\n The bank\u2019s system decides what to show each customer next based on their own behavior: an offer, a reminder, a financial tip. That next-best action model lifted client engagement impact by 40%, according to Databricks.<\/p>\n The Same System Also Fights Fraud and Assesses Credit Risk<\/p>\n We\u2019d love to be your preferred source for news<\/a>.<\/p>\n Please add us to your preferred sources list so our news, data and interviews show up in your feed. Thanks!<\/p>\n Discovery Bank uses the same system for fraud detection, credit decisions and general customer service, giving the bank one AI system doing several of its biggest jobs instead of building a separate tool for each one. On fraud, the bank said<\/a> in a May 14 press release that the system has prevented an estimated 100 million rand (about $6 million) in potential losses since late 2025.<\/p>\n Customer service runs on the same system, which fully resolves about 55% of client queries on the first interaction, according to the same release. Discovery Bank framed the AI push as one piece of a wider consolidation. \u201cWe are entering the next phase in Discovery Bank as we deepen the integration of banking, protection, rewards and investments into a single digital experience,\u201d CEO Hylton Kallner<\/a> said in the release.<\/p>\n Deutsche Bank and Others Put Numbers on AI Payback<\/p>\n Discovery Bank isn\u2019t the only bank putting a specific number on what AI is worth. Deutsche Bank<\/a> is using AI to cut the completion time of some tasks from two years down to as little as three months, Denis Roux<\/a>, chief information officer for the bank\u2019s investment bank, told Reuters in June, PYMNTS reported<\/a>.<\/p>\n Eighty-five percent of financial services firms with at least $1 billion in annual revenue plan to increase AI budgets over the next 12 months, according to PYMNTS Intelligence\u2019s May edition of the Enterprise AI Benchmark Report<\/a>,<\/a> and 65% cite productivity gains as the reason, tied with competitive positioning.<\/p>\n Ninety percent to 100% of enterprises surveyed by PYMNTS Intelligence for the August 2026 Enterprise Benchmark Report<\/a> said they\u2019re now getting some kind of return on AI investments. Full payback is rarer, with only 5% to 10% who said they\u2019re currently getting a full return. At least half of firms in every industry group projected full payback at five to six years. Against that backdrop, a bank claiming more than 500% is claiming something almost nobody else has.<\/p>\n![\"Preferred](\"https:\/\/www.pymnts.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/Google-PYMNTS-blackbox.svg\")
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