Open banking: putting consumers in the driver’s seat

Could open banking usher in a new era of convenience, access and service differentiation? It’s a tantalising possibility, but not one without potential security pitfalls which must be closely managed and mitigated. Done properly, concept of pen banking can...

Digital banks wary of losing the human connection

In their drive to be digitally relevant and hold market share, both traditional and digital banks run the risk of losing customers by reducing human interaction. This is the warning from Bardien Pienaar, GM at Merchants. He says that, in an environment where consumers...

A payments system taken for granted – because it just works

I’ve been thinking a lot lately about systems taken for granted because they’ve always been there and they’ve always worked. By Martin Grunewald, executive head: payments business at BankservAfrica Take the load shedding that we experienced in the first months of 2019...

AI to unlock insurance value

The adoption of artificial intelligence (AI) in the insurance and broader financial services sector will see the industry become more proactive in its ability to make decisions in real-time regarding the risks covered in their contracts. According to Johan Reyneke,...

Chatbots elevate customer experience in financial services

The growing sophistication of chatbots and the artificial intelligence (AI) that powers them could soon make time-consuming, frustrating interactions with financial services companies thing of the past. “Chatbots will dramatically change how you interact with a...