Banks accelerate AI adoption amid growing Big Tech threat and customer demand for enhanced personalisation and digitisationTraditional Banks are facing unprecedented customer pressure to digitise with Artificial Intelligence emerging as a critical component for banks to meet these expectations and dramatically improve bank performance and processes, according to the findings of Sopra Steria’s Digital Banking Experience Report 2023.
Download the report
Look at our infographic on the key findings
Download the infographic
Almost half (47%) of bank customers are tempted to open accounts with Big Tech players
More than one-in-three (36%) banks judge GAFAM-style players as “the greatest threat to our business.”
Banks risk losing customer trust: 51% of consumers believe their bank is not interested in earning them money
Trust is the lynchpin of the banking industry, and this year’s data reveals a full 80% of consumers trust their banks. However, this trust cannot be taken for granted.
Eric Bierry
Group Chief Executive Financial Services, Sopra Steria
Traditional banks also continue to face mounting pressure from digital-first rivals and in particular Big Tech giants such as Google, Apple, Facebook (Meta), Amazon and Microsoft, with almost half of consumers revealing they are interested in opening bank accounts with such players.
Banks recognise the threat with a third of bankers (36%) judging such tech players as “the greatest threat to our business”, according to the Sopra Steria survey, carried out for the third consecutive year in partnership with Ipsos and Forrester, in order to asses banks’ digital maturity and customer expectations.
Traditional banks are responding to this threat by investing heavily in emerging technologies, with 45% reporting they are planning to increase investment into tech such as chatbots, augmented/virtual reality, and AI-enabled digital assistants, with 35% reporting they will maintain existing investment levels.
AI stands out as a lynchpin in this strategy, as a key mechanism to analyse the exponentially expanding volume of customer data, and provide the high level of personalisation demanded by consumers, and also to drive improved efficiency by boosting internal processes. The goal is not for AI to replace staff but to usher in the era of the Augmented Advisor, providing employees with better insight to guide bank customers.
AI is helping banks meet customer digitalisation demands and drive efficiency, with almost one-in-two (47%) banks planning to integrate it into their business
Banks are simultaneously wary of the impact of AI on their business with 37% fearing the tech will put the company at greater risk of successful cyber-attack
Bankers are also concerned about a potential AI downside, with 30% of them worrying it will have a negative impact on jobs in the banking sector
Almost one-in-two (47%) bank decision makers are planning to integrate Generative AI or Large Language Models into their business, and 45% are planning to invest in AI-enabled automation and workflow optimisation.
Meanwhile, AI also facilitates the roll out of the open finance phenomenon, allowing banks to process data faster and more efficiently and streamlining collaboration and connectivity capabilities, which almost three-quarters of banks (74%) see as crucial to future success.
However, the AI revolution in banking does not come without challenges. Bankers are concerned about a cyber security race with criminals leveraging AI-powered algorithms to identify bank security weaknesses and mount ever more sophisticated attacks.
A total of 37% of bankers fear the tech will put their company at greater risk of successful cyber-attack, while 30% worry it will have a negative impact on banking sector jobs.
AI represents the transformative force of our generation, one that will reshape the very essence of business operations.
Yves Nicolas
Deputy Chief Technology Officer, Sopra Steria Group
Discover all the report’s findings