FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Louisville, KY—February 6, 2018—Widespread financial insecurity continues unabated in the U.S. Just 39% of Americans report having enough savings to cover a $1,000 emergency, according to personal finance site Bankrate’s most recent Financial Security Index survey released in January. Sum180 CEO Carla Dearing said, “It’s time to face a painful possibility. If people are struggling—and still not engaging in improving their own financial wellbeing—it may be because we in the financial services industry haven’t given them the tools and support they can really use.” Sum180 is an online financial wellness service, made for everyone, that starts where they are and gives them personalized next steps to help them improve their finances and live better, now and in the future.
“Artificial intelligence provides the opportunity to change this dynamic. And, unlike other industries still struggling to figure out how to apply AI’s disruptive potential in a meaningful way, the financial services industry has a big head start; we already have the food AI runs on: data—and lots of it,” Carla continued.
Providing financial services relies on vast amounts of customer data, often collected over long periods of time. Consumers are willing to share even more of their personal information with their banks, provided they receive value in return, as evidenced by the results of the Accenture Financial Services 2017 Global Distribution & Marketing Consumer Study: “Globally, 67% will grant banks access to more personal data, but 63% want more tailored advice, and the same number demand priority services, such as expedited loan approvals, or a monetary benefit, such as more competitive pricing, in return for the information they share.” The study gathered the views of more than 32,000 banking customers across 18 markets.
“The financial services industry now has a previously unimaginable opportunity to put this data to work in service of their customers. The advent of artificial intelligence, which can identify patterns and relationships on a scale impossible for humans, means institutions finally have the opportunity to overcome one of the biggest obstacles to engaging customers in their own financial wellbeing: providing each customer with the highly personalized, actionable advice they need, in the exact moment they need it,” continued Carla.
Carla provides the following insights into how the application of AI in the financial services industry will look “when we get it right”:
- AI will analyze large amounts of data to provide cognitive insights into customer behavior. These insights will give financial services providers deep, actionable visibility into what has happened, what is happening now and what is likely to happen next. The result will be a much deeper understanding of customer behavior and a greater ability to respond to customer needs in real time.
- Financial institutions will partner with firms that enable them to quickly bring these cognitive insights into practice—and transform them into competitive advantage. A big obstacle to unlocking the benefits of AI for financial services is the shortage of experts in this new technology. Financial institutions will sidestep this problem by partnering with fintech companies with the ability to analyze customer motivation and behavior, and translate the resulting insights into highly-targeted and relevant services for their customers.
- AI will exploit ever-increasing connectedness across institutions and applications, providing financial services firms with the ability to deliver the right financial advice and service—anywhere, anytime. It doesn’t matter how charming or thorough your educational material is. It’s only when we use data to know exactly where someone stands, and then give them the correct, actionable insight for that moment that we will empower our customers to engage with their financial wellbeing.
“When the financial services industry taps the power of AI to reach customers in context, I believe we will finally see Americans achieve the financial wellbeing they’re struggling to attain,” Carla concluded.
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About Sum180
Sum180 is an online financial wellness service, made for everyone, that starts where they are and gives them personalized next steps to help them improve their finances and live better, now and in the future.
Specifically, Sum180 is differentiated in the following ways:
- Sum180 meets people where they are. Sum180 plans are personalized to help people wherever they are right now on their financial journey; whether they’re just beginning, starting over or well on their way.
- Sum180 plans are simple. They start with only the three (3) most important next steps, making them easier to accomplish, and gives clients a clear picture of where they are.
- Sum180 doesn’t assume clients want to become financial experts to meet their financial goals. Sum180 provides the tools they need, without overwhelming them with “education” and details they don’t need.
- Sum180 offers a community for users, unfiltered, which allows them to explore and share.
- Sum180 serves; never sells. Earning and keeping client trust is Sum180’s highest priority. Sum180 never makes commissions from any of its recommendations, ever.
Additional information about Sum180 may be found at https://sum180.com/.
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Contact
Robin Schoen
Robin Schoen Public Relations
215.595.7542
rschoen@robinschoenpr.com