There is an understanding that even though there is a Tesla, people will continue to buy Porsches and Volkswagens.
Georgi Penev from IRIS Solutions made this clarification regarding the claim Martin Mateev from Nula.bgthat Revolut handled payment instruments and technologies much better than traditional Bulgarian banks.
These remarks were exchanged during the “Banking Today” conference, organized by investor.bg on April 25 at “Inter Expo Center”, within the panel dedicated to financial innovations with artificial intelligence, which are about to be introduced in our country in 2025 year.
Martin Mateev from Nula.bg shared that they already have an offer from UK Neo-Bank, which wants to enter the Bulgarian market, for them to be its kind of rocket launcher. However, the question is to what extent the Bulgarian business is ready to use an Internet bank as the main or at least as a payment method, Mateev shared his concerns.
He defended internet banks by explaining that they are software companies and as such it should be natural that their digital products are better than those of traditional banks.
Regarding the artificial intelligence in their products, Mateev gave an example that it will be relied on in the field of business analytics. Traditionally, he said, in order to generate a report or report, someone had to sit down and write the program, whereas now there are models where AI sits between the end user and the database and facilitates their use.
To clarify what he meant, Mateev boasted that he had asked the AI what was the best-selling book in November 2023 at “Helikon” in Varna and received the answer in the form of a tablet.
“Thus, a person who is not a programmer can easily work with a database and generate financial statements and reports,” explained Mateev.
Prof. Boryana Pelova from the Faculty of Economics of SU “St. Kliment Ohridski” also confirmed that one of the applications of AI where it will be extremely useful is related to the processing of large amounts of data of any nature – whether structured or not.
Velko Kamenov from Access Finance (part of MFG) was more specific when asked what AI innovations he expects to see in his field by 2025. He indicated that he was expecting Access Finance to continue the process of digitalization of services, with the aim of customers receiving their money faster and more painlessly – in as close to real time as possible.
Kamenov added that most so-called AI assistants, which are already in place at some of the larger banks and financial institutions, are not yet good enough at answering frequently asked questions, the option they are currently being used for. That is why his expectations for 2025 are that they will become better at performing these functions. In addition, Kamenov hopes that in 2025, AI will be used in a greater part of routine activities – for example, if now, in order to make a money transfer, you have to order the amount and fill in several fields, then the idea is that with AI that become faster and over time to be done with just voice commands.
Vladimir Ikonomov from “First Investment Bank” JSC pointed out that what his financial institution is investing in is digitization. To be more specific, he explained how in their bank network consisting of over 120 branches, they will introduce a new method of paperless signing in the office itself. The reason – many of their customers, despite having electronic banking, prefer to go to the bank office.
“This is specific to our region and market and we should take it into account“, admitted Ikonomov. Therefore, he expects that when customers go to an office location, they will now be able to sign their documents in a very fast way, without using paper and leaving a carbon footprint.
With regard to digital products, Ikonomov indicated that the principle of automation, behind which integration and optimization stand, will be introduced.
“No matter how much we use AI models, the truth is that we end up with a lot of technical work that is unlikely to ever go away. The reason – the technical work in question is tied to a very complex business logic“, continued Ikonomov and gave the following example:
“If we want to reduce mortgage approval times by 30%, the AI model will struggle. Then this task will be taken over by the technical persons who will refine the respective program and link the different systems so that in the end the customer gets what he wants“, explained the representative of “First Investment Bank” AD.
Assoc. Dr. Boryana Pelova, who also had to answer the question of how AI will affect her work, shared that at the Faculty of Economics of SU “St. Kliment Ohridski” together with his colleagues will continue to conduct scientific research related to its application in services for the business and financial world.
“What we get as a result of our research is immediately integrated into the curriculum that is taughtPelova emphasized and added that the Faculty of Economics works with over 200 business partners.
None of the panelists tied the implementation of AI to the upcoming membership of Bulgaria in the Eurozone. In general, when asked what they expect from the adoption of the euro, everyone agreed that the financial market will open up, and when there is increased competition, it is certainly positive for everyone.
Velko Kamenov from Access Finance (part of MFG) was more specific in his answer. He explained that as a financial institution, Access Finance will also go through the process of implementing and migrating systems so that they can work with Euros, something that is undoubtedly a challenge.
Vladimir Ikonomov from “First Investment Bank” JSC was adamant that their customers would most likely be able to make instant payments in euros within a year.
Tags: Tesla Porsche innovations expect banks
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