Aussie Banks Served With Blockchain Wake-Up Call by Work Economic Forum

The rapid evolution of the international financial ecosystem has resulted in a new wave of forward-leaning institutional organizations adopting a hybridized approach to finance technology, integrating blockchain and AI in order to create a new world of finance — and Aussie banks are paying close attention.

The World Economic Forum’s recently-published Future of AI and Automation in Financial Services report, released as a 200-page slide deck on Thursday, focuses solely on innovation and change within the financial ecosystem, and is set to significantly disrupt the way Australian banks do business.

Banks around the world, according to the World Economic Forum, are currently working closely with some of the largest providers of cloud computing power globally, leveraging decentralized processing power in order to accelerate data analytics and experiment with AI-drivel solutions.

The new competitive landscape emerging from the fintech ecosystem has already galvanized change within Australian finance — National Australia Bank is currently in discussions with Amazon Web Services, mirroring the actions of other banks around the world such as Deutsche Bank, Barclays, and Citibank, who have teamed up with Google, IBM, and Microsoft respectively.

Blockchain, AI, Cloud Computing Set to Rearrange Australian Finance

Cloud computing and blockchain technology, paired with artificial intelligence services creates unique use cases that are highly attractive to large-scale banking enterprises. Dynamic cash flow assessments, for example can support the gig economy, while integrated blockchain-enabled biometrics are a game changer for the insurance industry.

Arthur Calipo, operator of the lead financial service practice in Australia for Deloitte, highlighted the importance of adaptation for Australian financial platforms in statements released to the Australian Financial Review:

“It’s not so much about the threat of competition from Google, Apple and Amazon, but about these companies embedding themselves as enablers for financial institutions to increase value – and this points to the need to create alliances,” 

Members of Australia’s big five banks are taking the disruptive nature of fintech and blockchain seriously — IBM’s global head of cloud computing is scheduled to brief over 20 Australian banking and insurance sector executives on Friday 11th September regarding advanced automation, blockchain, and AI in the banking sector at a Trans-Tasman Business Circle event.