Transforming the customer journey with AI
In the current digital age, not implementing artificial intelligence will lead to business stagnation and, ultimately, failure.
The adoption of Artificial Intelligence (“AI”) within compliance functions has shifted from being a forward-thinking idea to a critical component of modern risk management strategies.
We do know that the capability of AI in Compliance is transformative. Not only does it enhance customer journeys, but it also has the potential to identify new regulatory requirements, helping compliance officers to proactively ensure compliance with local rules wherever your business operates. Very exciting.
With the European Union's AI Act, which officially came into force last month on 1st August 2024; the pioneering legislation categorised AI systems into four risk levels:
- (1) no risk
- (2) minimal risk
- (3) high risk and
- (4) prohibited systems
This world-first comprehensive regulatory framework targeting AI systems applies the strictest regulations to AI classified as high-risk. Biometric data collection falls within this category, which means identification and verification (“ID&V”) processes used in customer onboarding journeys and transaction monitoring is affected when AI is utilised in these processes.
Using AI in the customer onboarding journey can be transformative, with advantages such as:
- - enhancing the customers’ experience (less touch points);
- - creating the opportunity for faster access to financial services (faster onboarding);
- - ensuring accurate customer ID&V (checked against trusted databases);
- - enhancing customer trust (strengthens fraud prevention); and
- - alleviating Compliance staff’s operational lift and enhancing accuracy.
In today's digital age, accurate customer identity verification is essential for both regulatory compliance and customer trust. By automating and enhancing ID&V processes, customer information can quickly be cross-checked against vast databases, reducing verification time and minimising errors, all whilst adhering to regulatory requirements.
Integrating AI into the application process not only accelerates onboarding and transaction approvals, but also strengthens security against possible fraud on the customer’s account. It thus keeps the customer’s account safe and results in fewer transactional delays. This leads to an increased confidence in meeting stringent regulatory requirements such as those enforced in jurisdictions like Guernsey.
At Aston, we recognise that the integration of AI into our onboarding processes allows a smoother and safer customer journey. It further enhances our operational efficiency and sharpens our accuracy, all whilst protecting our customers’ accounts and their data.
Using AI in these processes comes with additional responsibilities such as ethical considerations to prevent biases in decision-making processes. The technology should be used in a responsible and transparent manner. At Aston, safety and ethics are at the forefront of our AI integration, and we understand the importance of human oversight and intervention even when implementing AI. We use AI as an enhancement (not replacement) to our already knowledgeable and experienced staff who now operate in an oversight capacity.
As always, Aston is committed to upholding the highest standards of data privacy and security and follows strict protocols to safeguard sensitive information collected during the onboarding journeys to ensure compliance with the Data Protection (Bailiwick of Guernsey) Law, 2017 (the "Law"). Our AI systems are designed with robust privacy features, and we regularly audit and monitor these systems to detect and mitigate any potential risks.
To learn more, get in touch with a member of the team - https://astoncm.com/en-GG.
