What is smart banking and how can it change financial sector? Interview with CEO of Converse Bank

Just a few years ago, for most financial transactions we had to go to the bank and spend quite a lot of time in line. Now we can manage our accounts, repay loans and perform many other transactions without leaving home, using mobile apps and the Internet.

The development of financial technologies, of course, does not stop and today, along with the development of mobile banking, the concept of "smart banking" is being introduced, within the framework of which, as noted Andranik Grigoryan, Chairman and CEO of Converse Bank CJSC, artificial intelligence will begin to make many decisions, replacing humans.

What is smart banking?

Andranik Grigoryan took part in the international technological summit SILICON MOUNTAINS 2022 held in Yerevan and organized by the Union of Employers of Information and Communication. He spoke about trends in the financial system and banks and how the system is transforming along with the development of technology at the panel discussion devoted to smart banking systems.

In a conversation with NEWS.am Tech Andranik Grigoryan stated that today automated systems can take over most of the decisions made in the banking sector, replacing individuals. Besides, artificial intelligence can study customer activity and give useful advices.

For example, artificial intelligence can assess how the client uses the money under his control, what financial instruments he uses, how much he has in savings, and then it can give advice on how to use the savings, where to invest them, to generate additional income. An individual may not be able to analyze all the information about a client in such detail and give really reasonable and objective advice.

"If you try to put it in one sentence, smart banking involves much faster, more reliable and stable financial transactions in which human error is minimized. Most human decisions are irrational, and in this case irrational decisions are minimized," says Andranik Grigoryan.

The banking system in 10 years

According to Andranik Grigoryan, the banking sector is one of the leading sectors in Armenia in terms of using modern technologies.

And how will the banking system look in 10 years?

According to him, 10 years is a rather long period for the rapidly developing sector, so today it's difficult to predict how it will change over the years. However, it is expected that in the not-too-distant future, any decision in this sphere will be made even faster, in seconds.

"Many places will implement single systems, single databases, from which we will get all the information about the given customer, and it will be possible to make a decision on it very quickly. Here we will be talking about seconds," he assures.

Naturally, along with the introduction and development of new technologies, new risks are possible.

"Ten years is a very long time. If we look at where we were 10 years ago and where we are now, we see how much has changed and how much progress has been made during that time. I see the same thing in the future. We won't see those classic banks with big buildings and employees in black suits. We're going to see banks in phones. Maybe in 10 years the phones will look different, I can't say. But everything will be much faster, much more reliable and trustworthy. Technology will play a much bigger role, and most of the decisions will be made by technology instead of people," he notes.

Andranik Grigoryan also does not rule out that in a few years, blockchain technology may find its place in the banking sector as well. Today many specialists see the future of the financial sector in development of blockchain technologies. According to Andranik Grigoryan, the future of financial sector indeed lies in development of technologies, but whether it will be blockchain or other technologies in particular is yet to be seen.