Behind the scenes at Finnosummit. The big guys are looking for AI startups

Major banks, fintech companies and investors have gone shopping for AI solutions, whether to prevent fraud or create contextual product offerings, in a sign of the growing interest this technology is generating in Latin America.

Investment funds and entities said iupana Who are looking to integrate or scale machine learning tools into their portfolios and digital channels, to enable use cases beyond virtual assistants or chatbots.

“We are here specifically for that,” said the head of digital banking at a Mexican entity whose app has 20 million users. A participant in last week’s FinnosummitIt is an event that brings together major players in the field of digital finance. “We are looking for solutions that help us add artificial intelligence to our app, which allows us to make offers; not only do they react to a customer’s doubt, but they can recognize patterns and make suggestions. For example, if a customer travels a lot, they are offered promotions to purchase the tickets.

“Also, to prevent fraud, which is the area to which we devote the most work. We need to better identify account usage patterns and raise alerts to block access if we suspect the account is being used by “Unauthorized person.”

In this sense, the capabilities of artificial intelligence in fraud prevention are promising. The biggest account breaches don’t happen because platforms or apps are hacked, but as a result of social engineering: when people unwittingly or under deception share their passwords with cybercriminals.

There, behavioral analysis can be helpful in raising red flags when a client, or group of clients, noticeably changes the pattern.tea. The expansion of artificial intelligence may allow passwords to be replaced, According to a group of experts who recently participated in a webinar on iupana.

You may also be interested in this on-demand event: AI, fraud and payments: what will happen in 2024?

Artificial intelligence in the wallet

Thus, it is not surprising that one of the overarching themes of last week’s event in Mexico City was next-generation AI and different ways to approach it from the financial side, something that is still in its relatively nascent stages in the region’s markets.

in spite of The noise The reality is that financial companies in the region are just starting to engage with these tools – especially generative AI. From now on, this technology will begin to be increasingly deployed in services.

“There is a thesis that we are developing regarding “It’s all about artificial intelligence, and it addresses everything: fintech issues, logistics, human resources,” explained Fabricio Zabala, portfolio head of Wayra Hispam, the investment and innovation arm of the multinational telecommunications company Telefonica.

Zabala explains that they are primarily focused on AI startups in the US, with an interest in expanding into Latin America. Once they are able to agree on the investment, they also provide advice and support in the internationalization process. In addition, they commercialize the solutions with potential customers.

For example, they reach an agreement with a startup from the United States that uses natural language to interpret the mood of the company’s workers. The tool enters employee emails is reading What they write in their daily communications, to provide alerts about employee concerns. “All information is anonymous. But, with groups of at least 5 people, he says ‘be careful, because this group has a high probability.’ Burnt “OR has a high probability of rotation,” the investor explained.

“Telefónica/Movistar goes to its customers and offers them Internet, TV and telephone. But it also asks them: How do you measure the climate and performance of your team? There we can also offer them the service of our startups and ticket augmentation,” he added.

The company’s fund, which includes digital lenders such as Kubo Financiero or Addi in its portfolio, is open to closing subscriptions ranging from US$100,000 to US$400,000 in early stages from seed to Series A.

Smart banking services

This type of functionality can also be applied to create trade alerts in financial services. For example, to allow banks to better understand the purchasing intent of a group of customers or inquire about their savings or loan needs.

“We use AI to understand financial and transactional data – what is a payment, what is income – and organize them into different categories and, in turn, help the bank understand the financial habits of its customers. From that, they can offer the right product, at the right time, to the right person and match it with Their products the shopexplained Juan José Gomez, marketing director at Coinscrap, a Spanish startup landing in Mexico.

Back home, they were part of business accelerator Santander, which is now their client. The same goes for insurance company Mapfre, which has turned from an investor into a buyer of its technology.

Gomez highlights that banks hardly use huge amounts of… Transaction data they have accumulated over decades of service. Data experts highlight that entities often suffer from “dirty data” barriers, that is, information is scattered across different sources, impossible to translate or is outdated.

Until now, the financial system has benefited most from analytical AI, which uses past data to make future predictions. To a lesser extent, they have integrated predictive AI (such as ChatGPT), which generates content and generates suggestions. This model will change soon.

“Generative AI will help this business grow a lot. A chatbot. Now it’s like a real advisor. “We will be able to process that banking data and we will be able, as people talk, to tell the customer, ‘I know your consumption habits, I know how much you earn, I know how much you spend, I can predict where you are going,’” he concluded.

You may also be interested in: Artificial Intelligence, Regulation and Banking: How to Balance the Financial Industry of the Future