Ioan MacRae Managing Director , UK & Ireland , Avaya

all in different parts of our life in terms of mortgages and debt , but trying to serve three generations via traditional methods as well as more complex methods is very challenging .”

As an increasing number of banks turn to AI and chatbots , as well as voice biometrics for identification , this is likely to form part of the consumer journey as opposed to replacing it . A customer might use a chatbot to get to the right place but will still want to speak to a human . “ At that point , I still want my call answered immediately by an agent , but I want the agent to know what I ’ ve been calling about . I don ’ t want to have to tell them the journey I ’ ve been through ,” MacRae explains . “ The adoption is there , but in varying degrees .”

Based on his company ’ s extensive research into the UK ’ s financial technology scene , there were some aspects MacRae didn ’ t expect despite his extensive experience on both sides of tech . “ What surprised me is how much people are willing to adopt technology from smart speakers to chatbots worldwide . People ’ s knowledge was higher than I thought on a global basis , and their willingness to have it as part of their customer journey was a pleasant surprise with it .” MacRae also points out how technology has permeated every area of business – for example , chatbots need to be connected to the marketing department to offer appropriate responses . “ IT , security , marketing … all different departments need to be part of this digital transformation .”

Equipped with this knowledge that change is influencing businesses and demanded by consumers , every finan-

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