Later that day Sam calls you. You have the same accent and seem to be about the same age. Once your questions about the products and services on offer have been answered, you decide to go ahead and become a customer. Sam asks if it’s OK to use Open Banking to connect to your bank, and a few moments later the process is done.

Fast forward a few months. The bank account switch has gone without a hitch, your salary and other payments have all moved over seamlessly, and you are getting used to having Sam on hand whenever you need help, watching over your finances, letting you know when you have been paid and reminding you when large expenses are due to go out.

AI that adapts and acts in the real world

Over time, Sam learns about your habits, and offers to sweep money in and out of your linked savings account to make sure your money is working hard even when you are elsewhere. And when you use those funds to take a trip overseas, Sam picks up on your new location, making currency conversion a breeze and even offering some local tips.

All of these exciting customer experiences are just around the corner. The technology foundation which makes them possible is not just the large language models which bring these agents to life, but equally importantly the underlying systems and interfaces which allow AI to take action in the real world.

In the realm of core banking, the application programming interfaces already widely used to integrate mobile and web, payment systems, and customer service can be easily repurposed to bring secure account access and transaction processing to AI-fuelled digital channels. Just a few years ago, these kinds of experiences would have seemed like science fiction.

Why APIs are the key to the future

New open standards for interfacing AI with tools and resources have achieved rapid and widespread adoption across all verticals including in financial services, and there is no sign of the pace slowing down.

Just as the YouTube generation finds the idea of scheduled TV broadcasts strange and clunky, so the next generation of bank customers will feel about the idea of having to wait in line to speak to their bank or download a special app when the chat window is their natural habitat. Their loyalty will come not from the brand but from the relationships that they form with the persona of each service that they use.

Financial institutions who benefit from an API-based architecture are well positioned to evolve their customer service offering, bringing new and compelling user experiences and helping improve efficiency and reduce operational costs. Mambu’s core platform, including payments, are specifically designed to put the API front and centre, helping pave the way for the next generation of customer engagement.

Contact us to learn more about our API-based, core banking platform.