Experts warn of the advantages and risks of the new scenario at the 3rd Finance Observatory organised by EL ESPAÑOL and Invertia.
The financial sector is based on 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 get left behind along the way. With regard to banks, the group most at risk is the group composed of the elderly.
Against this background, the challenge for banks is to strike a balance between an increasing proportion of customers who seek to engage with their bank through devices, and other users who have not developed the skills to use these tools. Or who do not want to.
This debate has been addressed during the 3rd Finance Observatory organised by EL ESPAÑOL and Invertia. The financial sector, aware of the problem, has developed a protocol with specific measures to ensure that no one is left behind in accessing services, said Antonio Romero Mora, Corporate Director of Association Services and Resources at CECA. "Successful banks will know how to segment their customers according to their needs", he maintained, arguing that it is possible for digitalisation and face-to-face banking to coexist.
For his part, José Luis Martínez Campuzano, spokesperson and head of communications for the Spanish Banking Association (AEB), pointed out that services are offering a wide range of possibilities to customers, who are the ones who choose the option they consider most convenient.
Demanding regulatory framework
Naturally, Artificial Intelligence and the use of data also play a crucial role in the future financial landscape. "It is changing the way we communicate and generate conversations with banks and companies. This is going to be a point of disruption", he added.
In addition to the debate on the survival of face-to-face banking and the technology boom, experts also discussed the difficulties faced by the financial sector, which is constantly in motion. Since 2008, the year of the financial crisis, banks have been facing a very demanding regulatory framework.
Customers find themselves with a solvent system, but it also generates other risks. "It is subject to permanent stress tests", said Mónica Melle, board member of the Madrid Regional Audit Office (Cámara de Cuentas de la Comunidad de Madrid).
Rates have been raised by the European Central Bank's (ECB) policy to tackle inflation, but Melle has warned of two risks. On the one hand, the increase in non-performing loans. On the other hand, credit availability is declining.
"The rise in interest rates affects economic growth. The ECB has the mission to strike a balance: bring under control the inflation curve and, at the same time, avoid a recession", the board member pointed out. She also predicted, in line with the other participants, that the financial system will be completely different in the next decade due to the technological revolution.
Meanwhile, Ángel Martínez-Aldama, Chairman of Inverco, advocates a financial service with more services and fewer products. "We see this as the path that will continue to develop", he remarked.
