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Digital Divide and the Future of Banking – III Observatory of Finance
Experts warn of the advantages and risks of the new scenario in the III Observatory of Finance organized by EL ESPAÑOL and Invertia.
The financial sector starts from the premise that technology is an ally; it is positive and contributes to greater efficiency. However, as in most transformation processes, there are always groups that are left behind. In the case of entities, the group at greatest risk is composed of older individuals.
Given this situation, the challenge for banking is to find a balance between an increasing proportion of customers who seek to interact with their entity through devices, and other users who have not developed the skills to use these tools. Or do not want to.
This debate has been addressed in the III Observatory of Finance organized by EL ESPAÑOL and Invertia. The financial sector, aware of the issue, has developed a protocol with specific measures to ensure that no one is left behind in access to services, as Antonio Romero Mora, corporate director of Associative Services and Resources of CECA, emphasized. “Winning entities will know how to segment their clients according to their needs”, he argued, maintaining that coexistence between digitalization and face-to-face interaction is indeed possible.
For his part, José Luis Martínez Campuzano, spokesman and head of Communication of the Spanish Banking Association (AEB), pointed out that services are offering a wide range of possibilities to customers, who are choosing the option they consider most convenient.
Rodrigo García de la Cruz, vice president of the Spanish Fintech and Insurtech Association (AEFI), has assured that technology will be a determining pillar in the coming years for the financial world. In fact, it already is. “Innovation is accelerating. In Europe, there has been a growth of technology companies that have come to collaborate with the financial sector itself,” he noted.
Demanding Regulatory Framework
Of course, Artificial Intelligence and the use of data also play a crucial role in the future financial framework. “It is changing the way we communicate and generate conversations with entities and companies. This will be a point of disruption,” he added.
In addition to the debate on the survival of in-person interactions in entities and the tech boom, experts have also raised the difficulties that the financial sector faces, which is in constant motion. Since the 2008 financial crisis, entities have faced a demanding regulatory framework.
Customers encounter a solvent system, but it also generates other risks. “It is subjected to permanent stress tests,” highlighted Mónica Melle, counselor of the Accounts Chamber of the Community of Madrid.
Interest rates have risen due to the policy of the European Central Bank (ECB) to combat inflation, but Melle warned of two risks. On one hand, the increase in defaults. On the other, the reduction in the ability to grant loans.
“The rise in rates affects economic growth. The ECB has the mission of seeking balance: to curb the inflation curve while preventing a recession,” the counselor emphasized. She also predicted, like the other participants, that the financial system will be completely different in the next decade due to technological revolution.
Meanwhile, Ángel Martínez-Aldama, president of Inverco, bets on a financial service with more services and fewer products. “We see that this is the path that will continue to develop,” he stressed.
