APIs: Building the digital financial infrastructure of tomorrow — A conversation with Plaid’s John Pitts

APIs John pitts

APIs have evolved from simple data connectors to the fundamental architecture driving financial innovation. In this episode of the Tearsheet Podcast, I speak with John Pitts. Plaid’s John Pitts reveals how they’re driving open banking and empowering consumer control. He is the Global Head of Policy at Plaid. With a career spanning regulatory and policy roles, Pitts brings a unique perspective to the table. He discusses the evolving role of APIs in financial services. From his role at the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) to leading policy at Plaid, Pitts shares key insights on open banking. He explores how APIs are shaping the future of consumer financial data rights and fintech innovation.

Reflecting on his journey, Pitts shares, “I didn’t realize at the time that I was stepping into this nexus of innovation.” He explains how his role at the CFPB allowed him to witness the early stages of non-bank financial services. He shares how these experiences now inform his work at Plaid. He highlights the critical role APIs play in fostering open finance and enhancing consumer control.  

Pitts explores why APIs are essential for modern financial infrastructure. He explains how Plaid is working to bridge gaps in financial data connectivity. Pitts shares his expertise on improving fraud prevention and enabling embedded finance. He emphasizes practical steps to align innovation with consumer needs. His insights highlight the evolving role of APIs in modern financial services.

The Highway Analogy: APIs as the Backbone of Financial Services

Pitts compares the role of APIs in financial services to the construction of a national highway system. “It’s like moving from dirt roads to paved highways,” he says. Pitts emphasizes the necessity of modernized data-sharing mechanisms. Screen scraping once led financial data transfers. But Pitts highlights how APIs now provide faster and safer solutions. Their reliability is transforming how financial data moves securely. “Consumers’ ability to share their data securely is fundamental to unlocking innovation,” he adds. He stresses that the adoption of APIs by financial institutions is critical for open banking.

Consumer Control and Open Banking

A core theme in Pitts’ discussion is consumer control over financial data. He explains how APIs empower consumers to move their financial data seamlessly between platforms. This fosters open banking.  

Unlike in other countries where open banking is largely regulated, Pitts notes that in the U.S., market forces have driven API adoption. “We have more open banking in the U.S. than anywhere else,” he states, citing the high number of connected accounts as evidence. Pitts also touches on the regulatory landscape. He highlights the importance of the recently introduced 1033 rule in accelerating API adoption.

Embedded Finance: Beyond Financial Institutions 

Pitts highlights how non-financial companies are using Plaid’s APIs for embedded finance. These examples show the growing demand for integrated financial solutions. Landlords are using APIs to enable digital rent payments. Tesla is streamlining car purchases with embedded finance. These examples highlight the rising demand for integrated financial services. “Businesses like John Deere and Tesla are early adopters. They’ve embedded financial tools to improve user experiences,” Pitts explains. This gradual adoption, he suggests, will soon speed up as regulatory clarity improves.

Digital Fraud and Risk Management

Digital fraud is a growing concern in the financial services industry, and APIs offer a potential solution. Pitts describes how banks and fintechs can leverage APIs to share data and build network-level defenses against fraud. “Fraud prevention is one of the biggest opportunities in open finance,” he notes. Pitts emphasizes its importance for consumer trust. Banks can also use APIs to provide consumers with tools to monitor and manage their connected accounts. Pitts argues that these innovations can strengthen relationships between banks and their customers.

The Strategic Opportunity of API Adoption 

Pitts urges financial institutions to see API adoption as both a compliance need and a strategic opportunity. It’s a chance to enhance innovation and engagement. He highlights how APIs can help banks deepen customer engagement by becoming the “home base” for financial activity. “When a consumer picks one account as their linked account, their usage of that account increases,” Pitts observes. He suggests that banks can leverage APIs to solidify their role in a consumer’s financial ecosystem.

The Big Ideas 

1. APIs Are the Backbone of Modern Financial Services. They serve as the foundation for modern financial services. This enables secure, efficient, and scalable data sharing. “It’s like moving from dirt roads to highways,” Pitts explains.  

2. Consumer Control Powers the Future of Open Banking. APIs empower consumers to access and share their financial data across platforms. This fosters innovation. “The U.S. has more connected accounts than anywhere else,” Pitts notes.  

3. Embedded Finance Is Becoming a Key Use Case for APIs. Companies outside the financial sector, such as Tesla and John Deere, are adopting APIs for integrated financial services.  

4. APIs Enable Stronger Collaboration to Prevent Digital Fraud. They facilitate data sharing among financial institutions, creating stronger defenses against digital fraud. “Greater data sharing protects consumers,” says Pitts.  

5. API Adoption Is Both a Compliance Need and a Strategic Opportunity. Financial institutions can use APIs to increase consumer engagement and maintain account primacy.  

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Looking back and moving forward: 2025 trends for Open Banking and Gen AI

Two technologies have dominated the conversations in this industry for the last year: Open Banking and AI. Open Banking, because the 1033 rulemaking started a discussion on who owns the customers and their data, and AI, because, well, Gen AI.

Lets dive into how Open Banking and Gen AI impacted the industry in 2024 and how we think adoption is going to fare in 2025.

Looking back: Open Banking in 2024

The 1033 rulemaking, although contentious, is definitely pushing Open Banking from a possibility to an inevitability, and it’s a shift that is reflected globally. “Paired with innovations across the industry and regulatory advancements in different global markets have helped move Open Banking forward this year and will be instrumental to its sustained growth,” said Jess Turner, EVP, Global Head of Open Banking & API at Mastercard.

Banks’ strategies to Open Banking adoption and the 1033 rulemaking is primarily determined by their size, according to Ulrike Guigui, Managing Director at Deloitte, who says:

  1. Large banks and regional banks are building out the infrastructural and technological components needed for compliance and are also exploring use cases and opportunities.
  2. Medium-to-small sized banks are looking towards vendors to access the tech or are not prioritizing this topic in light of the lengthy timeframe to comply.

The infrastructure build that Open Banking requires can be a challenge for some banks: “For banks on their path to compliance with rule 1033, the challenge has been to put in place a cross-functional strategy that addresses the ‘builds’ that will be required: consumer portal, enhanced third party risk management and developer (API) portal. Mapping data from proprietary and vendor systems, putting in place the infrastructure to handle the anticipated volume of API calls as well as the operational capacity to handle increased consumer call volume, are time consuming tasks in an environment of stretched resources,” said Guigui.

With banks finding that they may soon need to act on Open Banking either due to competition or regulation there is also a push towards raising the overall industry standard. Mastercard’s Turner adds that she has observed a call to make the ecosystem more secure as well as an added emphasis on ensuring that consumers are at the center and have control of their data.

Trends: Open Banking in 2025

As the industry navigates the infrastructural challenges and the changing regulatory landscape, we can expect to see the following trends emerge: i) More financial inclusion for consumers: Traditional credit decisioning systems may be excluding a significant portion of customers from accessing liquidity and credit. But Open Banking may be able to bring more customers into the fold. “Open banking’s innovative use of alternative data – for example, using data like rent payment history, cash flow and balance analytics to prove creditworthiness – create more opportunities for those outside of the credit mainstream to take control of their financial lives,” said Turner. This is not necessarily a new use case but the regulation-driven adoption of Open Banking and the formalization it is making necessary may finally push alternative data usage from being on the periphery to being more widely deployed.

ii) More business for vendors: Technology providers and vendors play a huge role in helping this industry shift towards new technologies, and while Open Banking isn’t ground breakingly new at this point, the number of vendors that offer these capabilities isn’t too large. “With the final passage of the rule and revised timelines, industry participants now know they need to prioritize this broad implementation and there may well be excessive demand on the few vendors who are active in Open Banking,” said Guigui.

iii) Products and experiences: Deloitte’s Guigui expects to see product development to be focused in CX and building operational efficiencies.

  1. Customer experience: Existing customer-facing processes like account opening and underwriting may become easier due to better availability of data.
  2. Operational efficiency: Banks might be able to utilize the increased availability of data to improve anti-fraud measures. There will be opportunities for banks to leverage data to improve fraud and related back-office activities.

Looking back: Gen AI in 2024

Last year, the industry warmed up further to Gen AI. It was a welcome shift from discussing whether Gen AI could end the world towards discussing what it could do for us and how to ensure it does everything safely.

Big banks like JPMC, Morgan Stanley, and Truist all found back office tasks that could benefit from the tech. Some small but forward thinking banks are realizing that building AI literacy and capabilities in their workforce is essential and launching strategies that help their workforce upskill. Meanwhile, fintechs like Public and Lili continued to move faster and found ways to augment their customer-facing interfaces with Gen AI-powered digital assistants.

“2023 was all about education and doing proofs of concept, while 2024 was about leveraging those learnings to build enterprise AI platforms and beginning to move GenAI use cases into production. At the end of 2024, we have seen solid progress from financial institutions using Gen AI in their organizations and expect this to continue to ramp up in 2025. These use cases have been focused on efficiency plays and supporting workforce acceleration but have included a human in the loop,” said Kevin Laughridge, Principal at Deloitte.

Trends: Gen AI in 2025

So far, firms (specially banks) have used Gen AI to make their existing processes more effective. But as ease with the technology increases it’s likely that Gen AI would start to feature more heavily in products and impact firms’ bottom lines.

i) Pushing into the front office: Even though there are very few active projects that hint at banks implementing Gen AI in the front of the office, it’s unlikely that it will always be this way. It took banks years to act on chatbots but they did eventually. The natural evolution of the chatbot is enhancement through Gen AI. Similarly, as comfort levels with the technology increase driven by the formulation of internal governance policies, moving implementation to the front of the office will become less daunting.

“We expect to see the GenAI use cases in financial services begin to move from the middle and back office to supporting more front office functions and move to support more revenue generations vs. driving efficiencies,” said Laughridge.

ii) Open Banking + Gen AI: There is also a possibility that both Open Banking and Gen AI technologies will come together to enhance already existing products like PFMs – layering on top of one another to enhance product experiences through automation. “In synergy with informed consent protocols, open banking data, coupled with responsible Generative AI, can optimize a consumer’s financial management, essentially acting as a personal wealth manager,” said Mastercard’s Turner.

iii) Infrastructure builds: FIs hoping to take better advantage of innovations offered by Gen AI will need to invest in improving their technology and make bigger strides in their data modernization journey. “Financial institutions will need to galvanize their AI platform; this is more than simply picking an LLM, it is a platform that enables scaled AI with many LLMs in a controlled environment,” he added. iv) Managing people:  As firms continue to deploy Gen AI first in the back office they will need to make a concerted effort to ensure their employees not only possess the technical skills to leverage Gen AI, but the data literacy to understand its risks. “FIs will also need to work through change management of their employees, continuing to show why AI is a workforce accelerator and enabler of business value,” he said.

Sidebar: Banks’ barrage-like movement when it comes to Gen AI


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Peter Renton’s Fintech Forecast: Banking as a Service, Embedded Finance, and the Future of Open Banking

Open Banking peter renton

In the ever-evolving world of fintech and open banking, staying ahead of the curve is crucial. Few understand this better than Peter Renton. He is the CEO and founder of Renton & Co., a fintech consulting firm specializing in media, thought leadership, and event support. Renton is the former chairman and co-founder of Fintech Nexus (formerly LendIt Fintech). He has been out in the lead of fintech innovation for over a decade. His work has shaped the industry during this time.

In today’s episode of the Tearsheet podcast, Renton shared his insights on the current state of fintech. He shares his insights on where he sees the industry heading. Renton has a keen understanding of the fintech sector. His insights provide valuable guidance for established companies and newcomers in the industry.

“Without doubt, the most interesting space in fintech in 2024 is the banking as a service space,” Renton states. “Because of the way the banking system in this country is structured, we need banking as a service. And it’s not going away.”

The evolution of fintech events

Renton’s journey in the fintech world was punctuated with the creation of LendIt. It is a conference that grew from a small gathering of 350 people to a major industry event attracting thousands of attendees. As the fintech landscape evolved, so did the event. It expanded its focus from peer-to-peer lending to encompass broader fintech topics and companies.

“We expanded beyond lending and started it in 2017 and got going in 2018/2019, where we became a real fintech event,” Renton explains. This evolution mirrors the broader changes in the fintech industry. These include specialized lending platforms to comprehensive financial services providers.

The changing face of fintech conferences

Large-scale events like Money 2020 and Fintech Meetup still attract many attendees. Renton observes a rising trend of smaller, more specialized events organized by fintech companies themselves. “What you’re seeing in the event space is more and more companies doing their own small events,” he observes. These specialized gatherings allow companies to showcase thought leadership. They help to engage with their target audience.

Opportunities in Banking-as-a-Service and Embedded Finance

Renton sees significant potential in the banking-as-a-service (BaaS) sector, despite recent challenges. He believes that new regulations will provide clarity and stability. This will create opportunities for community banks. As a result, they will be able to expand their reach through BaaS offerings.

“If you want to grow your community bank, it’s hard to do that geographically now,” Renton explains. “But if you open up a BaaS line of business, there are ways you can grow your bank.”

Embedded finance is closely related to BaaS. It is another area Renton highlights as ripe for innovation. He points to companies like Pipe bringing fintech solutions to non-financial businesses, particularly in the vertical SaaS space.

The promise of Open Banking

Looking ahead, Renton is particularly excited about the potential of open banking. With the anticipated release of new CFPB rules on open banking, he foresees a wave of innovation.

“Open banking… is going to be a moment in time, but then that’s going to be in place and people are going to understand the rules of the road,” Renton predicts. “I think there’s a massive opportunity once that gets going. And when all the data, when your data becomes yours and it becomes more portable. There’s going to be a wave of new fintech companies that are going to use that and take advantage of that.”

The big ideas for Open Banking and Embedded Finance

  1. There is a need for banking-as-a-service evolution. Renton asserts, “We need banking as a service. And it’s not going away.” He highlights the ongoing importance of BaaS in the fintech ecosystem.
  2. Renton highlights the rise of specialized events. “What you’re seeing in the event space is more and more companies doing their small events,” Renton notes. He points to a shift in how fintech companies engage with their audiences.
  3. He observes a growth trend in embedded finance opportunities. “If you’re a vertical SaaS company today and you’re not making revenue from payments and revenue from lending, you are behind the curve,” Renton warns. emphasizing the growing importance of embedded finance.
  4. Renton underscores the potential of community banks. He explains, “If you want to grow your community bank, it’s really hard to do that geographically now.” He suggests BaaS as a growth strategy for smaller banks.
  5. There is a rise in open banking innovation. “I think there’s a massive opportunity once [open banking] gets going,” Renton predicts. He anticipates a new wave of fintech innovation driven by data portability.

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          Resources Mentioned

          Fintech Nexus (formerly LendIt Fintech)

          Renton Co.

          Money 2020

          Fintech Meetup

          Pipe

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          How U.S. Bank is reinventing itself for the digital age with Chief Product Officer of Digital Platforms, Gareth Gaston

          US Bank Gareth Gaston

          In an evolving financial landscape, US Bank has emerged as a leader in digital transformation. It has reshaped the way customers interact with their finances. Today’s episode of the Tearsheet podcast features Gareth Gaston, Chief Product Officer of Digital Platforms at U.S. Bank. He discusses the bank’s decade-long journey of innovation and customer-centric development.

          “We’ve been on a multi-year journey on digital transformation across all facets that you can think of digital,” Gaston explains. This transformation has been more than just a technological upgrade. It’s been a cultural shift that has positioned U.S. Bank at the forefront of banking innovation.

          The journey began with the recognition that customers were using more than just physical branches. “When we started this journey, we were renting all our digital tools,” Gaston recalls. “We didn’t have a mobile app. We were kind of renting our online banking and bill pay.”

          From these humble beginnings, U.S. Bank has built its own digital platform and in doing so, laid the groundwork for successful future product development. In doing so, it has created award-winning apps and platforms that serve millions of customers.

          Here’s my conversation with U.S. Bank’s Gareth Gaston.

          Evolution of U.S. Bank’s Digital Transformation

          U.S. Bank’s initial move was to shift from renting digital tools to creating their own. This allowed them to develop in-house products tailored to their needs. This shift allowed for greater control over the customer experience. It resulted in faster innovation cycles.

          “We rebuilt our app from the ground up, below the glass and above the glass, as we call it,” Gaston shares. This effort paid off. The app got the recognition for “the best app in banking” shortly after its launch.

          Expanding Digital Services

          The bank did not stop at mobile apps. They expanded their digital offerings to include:

          • A voice assistant, now recognized as a leader in financial services
          • Spanish language conversational experiences
          • End-to-end digital mortgage applications
          • Same-day business loan approvals and funding

          Gaston emphasizes the importance of these developments. He highlights, “Our mortgage experience has won awards and it’s fully end-to-end. Most of our applications and processes are done digitally.”

          Enterprise-Wide Digital Transformation

          U.S. Bank is now expanding its digital capabilities across the entire company. This phase aims to enhance digital services throughout the enterprise. “Having had great success in consumer and business banking, let’s take that across the whole enterprise,” Gaston explains.

          This expansion includes creating foundational capabilities. They can be used across all divisions. From payments to wealth management and commercial banking.

          Embracing Open Banking and Connected Finance

          US Bank has embraced the concept of “connected finance.” It has created APIs that enable various use cases. These include embedded payments and partnerships with other financial institutions.

          “We offer both real-time payments and FedNow as one API,” Gaston notes. He highlights the bank’s commitment to staying at the forefront of payment technology.

          Leveraging AI and Machine Learning

          The bank recognizes the potential of artificial intelligence. U.S. Bank has recently welcomed a new Chief Artificial Intelligence Officer. This move underscores their commitment to integrating AI across their operations. From personal productivity tools to enhancing the product development lifecycle.

          The Big Ideas

          1. Digital transformation is a continuous journey that requires both technological and cultural changes. Gareth says, “We’ve been on a multi-year journey on digital transformation across all facets that you can think of digital.”
          2. Developing in-house digital tools enables more innovation and control. This improves the customer experience. Gareth says, “We rebuilt our app from the ground up, below the glass and above the glass, as we call it.”
          3. The reusability of digital platforms across the enterprise accelerates product development and ensures consistency. “The whole idea of reuse is that we were very intentional around creating these seven different platform groups”, explains Gareth.
          4. Open banking and connected finance are key to meeting evolving customer needs and expectations. “We embraced, uh, you know, we call it connected finance. But open banking, from the start of the journey in the U.S.”, Gareth says.
          5. AI and machine learning will play a crucial role in the future of banking. This requires dedicated leadership and governance. “It’s so important. We, this week, just welcomed our new chief artificial intelligence officer”, Gareth highlights.

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          FIs and fintechs can learn to partner more intelligently with Pacemakers’ Alessandro Hatami

          open banking alessandro hatami

          As the financial world evolves, open banking and digital transformation are opening up new opportunities. This comes with several challenges for banks and fintechs. In today’s episode, I sit down with Alessandro Hatami. He is a managing partner of Pacemakers, a consulting firm that offers a systematic approach that allows its clients to find the partner that is right for them.

          Today we discuss some of these seismic shifts in the fintech industry.

          Hatami has a unique background in financial services, spanning both upstart tech companies like PayPal and traditional institutions like Lloyds Bank. His background offers a compelling perspective on the future of financial services. “Financial services is the ideal digital product,” Hatami asserts. “because there isn’t a real tangible exchange,” he says. Yet, despite this potential, many institutions are struggling to embrace digital transformation.

          I’ve been saying for years on this podcast that the ability for both larger and smaller institutions to partner – to partner well, at scale, quickly, and deeply – can be a differentiated, defensible model moving forward.

          Hatami explains, “They have gone through an evolution. But they haven’t gone through a transformation.” The challenge facing the industry today lies in balancing adaptation with true transformation. from legacy systems to cultural barriers.

          Through Pacemakers, Hatami aims to bridge this gap. He wants to improve partnerships between established financial institutions and agile fintech innovators.

          Here’s my conversation with Pacemakers’ Alessandro Hatami.

          Three stages of financial services innovation

          Hatami outlines a three-stage model of innovation in financial services:

          1. Adapting – Banks begin by adapting existing capabilities to digital platforms.
          2. Evolving – Institutions develop new digital-only services not possible in traditional branch settings.
          3. Transforming – The toughest stage is rethinking financial services with a customer-centric perspective.

          “What’s on the other side is a financial services proposition. It is not designed to sell a product to an individual. But it’s designed at understanding what the individual needs,” Hatami explains.

          Overcoming challenges in fintech partnerships

          Successful collaborations between incumbents and fintech face several hurdles:

          • Timing mismatches between fast-moving startups and slower corporate processes
          • Difficulty in translating innovative propositions into terms that resonate with traditional banks
          • Identifying the right internal champion with P&L responsibility

          Hatami advises, “You have to explain to the big company what you could do for them. But you have to explain to them in their terms.”

          Rise of open banking and banking as a platform

          The concept of open banking is transforming the consumption and delivery of financial services. Hatami predicts, “The future in banking will be. The banks will become the gatekeeper of my financial relationship. The bank may or may not deliver the services and products I receive.

          “Banking as a platform” is a major shift from the old model where banks made all their products themselves. Now, banks collaborate with others to offer a wider range of services.

          Role of AI in reshaping financial services

          Artificial Intelligence presents enormous opportunities for the financial sector. Particularly in data processing and pattern recognition. AI will likely support, not replace, human interaction in customer service roles.

          “The way I think about AI is about it as an efficient, effective, interesting way of capturing data. Through the new visualization techniques. And also processing gigantic amounts of data,” Hatami explains.

          Cultural Transformation: From product-centric to customer-centric

          The biggest challenge is shifting from a product-centric to a customer-centric approach. This requires a cultural change. It needs banks to completely reorganize their operations. And change how they measure success.

          Hatami notes, “In a customer-centric world, banks must use customer segmentation for their profits and losses. Not just product-based metrics. This requires a complete transformation of how banks operate.”

          The Big Ideas

          1. Digital transformation in financial services is vital. “They have gone through an evolution. But they haven’t gone through a transformation,” Hatami observes. Banks must move beyond adapting existing services. They must reimagine their role in customers’ financial lives.
          2. Hatami highlights the importance of cultural alignment in partnerships. “You have to explain to the big company what you could do for them, but you have to explain to them in their terms,” he advises. Successful collaborations need mutual understanding and clear communication.
          3. Open Banking is the future of fintech. “The future in banking will be. The banks will become the gatekeeper of my financial relationship,” Hatami predicts. This shift will change the delivery of financial services.
          4. Hatami focuses on the role of AI in financial services. “The way I think about AI is as an efficient, effective, interesting way of capturing data,” Hatami explains. While AI offers significant opportunities, human interaction remains crucial in financial services.
          5. Hatami highlights the shift to customer-centric banking. “In a world where the customer is centric, they go through the segmentation P&L, not the product P&L,” he notes. This fundamental shift requires completely transforming how banks operate and measure success.

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          How Generative AI and open banking are redefining personalization in financial services with Curinos’ Olly Downs

          open banking holly downs

          Generative AI and open banking are beginning to change how banks engage with customers. Today we will look at this process with Olly Downs. He is a Chief Technology and AI Officer at Curinos. With a career spanning three waves of AI, Downs brings a wealth of experience to the table. He published his first academic paper on what we now call generative AI, back in 1999. “I’ve almost been waiting for the current wave of AI to join us,” Downs reflects. He highlights the long-anticipated arrival of today’s AI capabilities.

          AI-driven personalization will change digital banking. Banks are beginning to use it to recreate the personalized touch of traditional banking. Downs explains, “Traditional banking founded itself on personalized, high-engagement relationships. That followed families and businesses throughout their entire life cycle.” Personalizing the online experience is challenging due to the growth of digital channels. Curinos’ technology tackles this by analyzing customer journeys. It identifies the best times and ways to engage customers. This ensures that personalization continues in the digital space. The result is a more effective and tailored customer experience.

          Generative AI is not just boosting personalization. It addresses the entire marketing cycle for banks. This shift is redefining how banks approach customer engagement. It’s enabling and testing tailored interactions with numerous ready-to-use marketing creatives. The impact is both profound and widespread. The blend of personalization with open banking is shaping the future of banking. 

          1. Evolution of AI in Banking Personalization

          Downs traces AI’s progress in banking, from Microsoft Research to today’s generative AI. He notes, “We’ve done so much better in understanding language. And the human internalization of concepts.” This progress has deepened our understanding of customer behavior across different communication channels. It provides a clearer picture of how customers interact, enabling banks to create more personalized experiences. Banks nowadays are focusing on data-driven customer lifecycle management.

          2. Bridging the Gap Between Traditional and Digital Banking

          Modern banks want to replicate the personalized touch of traditional banking online. This is a major challenge in the digital age. “The most satisfied retail banking customers engage with a branch. As well as digital services,” Downs says. This insight highlights the need for a consistent experience across all channels. AI helps unify customer journeys. It offers context for both digital and in-person interactions. Achieving this consistency is crucial for a seamless customer experience.

          3. Generative AI: A Game-Changer for Financial Services Marketing

          Generative AI addresses the marketing process for banks. Downs reveals, “We’ve been able to stitch in with the help of generative AI… how can we be experimenting live?” This technology allows for real-time learning and adaptation of marketing strategies. It accelerates the creative process and campaign execution.

          4. Future of Open Banking and Personalization

          Looking ahead, Downs contemplates the convergence of personalization and open banking. He muses, “There’s an opportunity for thinking about… pricing and packaging, both of deposit and lending products that can become very personal.” Yet, he also notes the potential challenges in data consolidation open banking might present, suggesting a need for consumer-driven solutions.

          5. Micro-Personalization: The Next Frontier

          The conversation touches on the concept of micro-personalization. It means “personalization for an audience of one.” The goal of personalized banking is to integrate both branch and digital services. Downs notes that open banking trends and data privacy issues make this complex. These challenges make personalization more difficult.

          The Big Ideas

          1. AI-driven personalization is reviving traditional banking relationships. Downs highlights, “Traditional banking founded itself on personalized, high-engagement relationships.” He explains how AI is enabling banks to maintain this level of personalization. It is doing this across digital channels.
          2. Generative AI will change financial services marketing. Downs reveals, “It’s a massive unlock. It’s a hundred X unlock of the creative process in particular.” This technology allows for continuous experimentation and rapid adaptation of marketing strategies.
          3. The future of banking lies in the convergence of personalization and open banking. Downs predicts a future where banking products are highly personalized, stating, “There’s an opportunity for thinking about… pricing and packaging, both of deposit and lending products that can become very personal.” Yet, he also acknowledges the challenges that it might present in data consolidation.
          4. Customer engagement is key to long-term value. Downs explains, “The key use case has been about engagement and the path to primacy and maximizing quality of customers.”
          5. AI is enabling real-time learning and adaptation. Downs describes how Curinos technology can “generate new recommended creatives”. It does so in that “flow for the marketing team.” This allows for the immediate implementation of insights gained from customer interactions.

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