Jenny Tice: They all very much want in-person relationships. Most clients prefer to meet in person rather than on Zoom when given the option.
Paul Yeomans: AI is not directly taking away in-person relationships. You aren’t seeing lenders and branch staff replaced with a computer screen here at Exchange Bank. However, as one example, customers are indirectly seeing the value of AI where we us it to combat fraud.
Will you or are you using immersive technologies such as augmented reality and virtual reality to train employees or interact with customers?
Richard Aguilar: Bank of America has invested in an immersive approach to education and training through virtual reality that replicates the real-life scenarios employees will likely encounter in their day-to-day roles. Across more than 20 VR simulations, we deliver real-time corrections and personalized feedback so employees can learn at their own pace, while practicing the soft skills that are critical to success across all parts of our business.
As a result, our employees and their managers report that they are more equipped to succeed in their roles and are more confident in their responsibilities, leading to increased productivity, lower first-year turnover, better retention broadly, and greater opportunity for career mobility.
Sunil Pandya: In terms of employee training, we use the virtual tools available in line with industry best practices. For customers, we’re working on a number of AI-driven features, one of the first being Fargo, the virtual assistant within our app. Fargo offers a concierge-like experience, providing customers answers to their everyday banking questions (for example, “Did I receive my tax refund?”) and, rather than taking multiple manual steps to accomplish a task, ask Fargo to complete the task for them.
As Fargo continues to evolve, it will help customers track their financial fitness, and provide step-by-step coaching to achieve financial goals. Eventually, Fargo will even help customers manage their finances on autopilot, including automating activities like saving, investing, and asset allocation.
Paul Yeomans: This is one of the fastest growing areas of AI within business. Many people chat with AI to practice conversations or how to have difficult discussions with customers. While we do not officially have an AI training program in place today, it is on the road map.
Is there anything new on the cybersecurity front when it comes to commercial banking?
Richard Aguilar: Information security is a top priority for Bank of America because the trust of our clients is fundamental to our business. Our approach to information security and data protection is foundational as an integral part of every system, process, and business interaction. We also share our knowledge to help our clients understand how to protect their company from cyber threats – be it monitoring for ransomware, staying ahead of cybercriminals or using a threat-led approach to adapt practices as needed – with the most current information available.
Jeff Clark: Cybersecurity continues to be an important focus for Live Oak Bank. We receive ongoing training to detect and mitigate cybersecurity risk.
Brian Kilkenny: RCU is always focused on cybersecurity and ensuring we’re protecting our members. One of the trends we’re seeing today is that businesses — especially small businesses — are increasingly being targeted by cybercriminals. That’s one of the reasons we recently hosted a live cybersecurity seminar for local businesses and technology professionals. We hope to do that again soon because we think it’s important that businesses are aware of how they can protect themselves and their employees from cybersecurity threats.
Sunil Pandya: We’re focused on building and maintaining secure systems and a resilient infrastructure with best-in-class solutions to ensure customers have 24/7 access to their accounts and preferred channels. Security and stability remain top priorities at Wells Fargo — we proactively collaborate internally to best manage risk, and we strive to provide the highest level of cybersecurity and protections to safeguard the data, privacy, and financial assets of our clients, in addition to the company and our operations.
Brandy Lee Seppi: This isn’t new, but cybersecurity is even more important as fraudsters become more sophisticated with AI and technology. It will be increasingly more important to focus on security and education to protect our customers.
Paul Yeomans: Cybersecurity is all about protecting information. Our customer’s information is the most important thing we are trusted with. Our goal is to continue to invest in the tools and expertise to employ a robust cyber strategy. From a commercial standpoint, businesses need to mature and migrate away from doing sensitive business over email and fax. The bad guys are unfortunately very good at what they do and having a cybersecurity strategy is paramount.
