Debbie Gamble - The Impact of Digital Change in Financial Services

Summary

In this enlightening transcript by WatSPEED from the University of Waterloo, Debbie Gamble discusses the pivotal role of technology in revolutionizing the financial services industry. As traditional banking has transformed into a digitally driven landscape, the emphasis is on digital enablement, authentication through biometrics, and the growing influence of distributed ledger technology and cryptocurrencies. The conversation also covers the impact of data and machine learning, particularly in developing relevant capabilities for users and engaging collaboratively with innovators and policy makers to modernize payment infrastructures in Canada.

Highlights

• Technology is the backbone of change in the financial industry, with most transformations tech-driven. ⚡
• Digital natives, primarily students, live in a fully digitalized environment, impacting their financial interactions. 👨‍💻
• Biometric authentication and data management are key to secure, convenient financial transactions. 🛡️
• The pandemic proved remote work's viability, further boosting tech reliance. 💻
• Canada's ecosystem is modernizing payment methods with a focus on security and efficiency. 💳

Key Takeaways

• Digital native students experience a completely digital world, influencing their interactions with financial services. 🌐
• Technology drives massive change in financial services, making transactions more secure and accessible. 🔒
• The pandemic accelerated remote work and learning, highlighting the adaptability of technology. 🏠
• Biometrics and face recognition enhance secure and convenient daily transactions. 👁️
• Canada is actively modernizing its payment infrastructure with input from government and industry leaders. 🍁

Overview

In this insightful discussion, Debbie Gamble delves into the transformative impact of digital technology on the financial services sector. With every industry being reshaped by technological advances, financial services, especially, have stepped into an era of digital enablement. From banking to payments, digital is the new norm, enabling more secure and efficient transactions everywhere. 📱

Highlighting the generation of digital natives, Gamble underscores their influence on how financial services are perceived and consumed. This cohort is acclimated to conducting nearly all activities digitally, necessitating a seismic shift in how financial services engage and deliver their offerings. Biometric authentication and face recognition are but a few of the groundbreaking advancements that have elevated security and convenience. 🌐

Canada stands at the forefront of financial innovation, modernizing its payment infrastructure with the help of government, regulators, and tech leaders. Through collaborative efforts, the landscape is set for a future where cutting-edge solutions like crypto and NFTs enhance daily transactions, making them faster, safer, and more aligned with global trends. 🇨🇦

Chapters

• 00:00 - 01:00: Introduction to Digital Changes in Financial Services The chapter begins by addressing the changes occurring in the financial services industry, largely driven by technological advancements. It notes that technology is a key factor affecting every industry, including financial services.
• 01:00 - 02:00: Digital Enablement and Student Experiences This chapter focuses on digital enablement and how it shapes student experiences. It contrasts the experiences of current students, who are digital natives, with those of older generations. The chapter highlights the seamless integration of digital tools in students' everyday lives, from social interactions to transactions.
• 02:00 - 03:00: Impact of Computing Power and Data The chapter discusses the impact of advancements in computing power and data on various aspects of daily life, such as food delivery and transportation. It highlights the role of Moore's Law in ensuring computing power becomes faster and more economical, thus improving accessibility. The chapter also touches upon experiences and challenges faced during the recent pandemic, implying a further need for technological adaptation and innovation.
• 03:00 - 04:00: Technological Advances During COVID-19 The chapter discusses the technological advances that have taken place during the COVID-19 pandemic. It highlights that remote work and learning have become feasible, although not always preferred, due to technological capabilities. The ongoing evolution of computing power is driving new innovations, indicating that the trends observed in technological advancements are universally applicable.
• 04:00 - 05:00: Overview of the Financial Services Industry in Canada The chapter discusses the ongoing reduction in computing costs, which is driving innovation in various sectors. Highlights include the impact of distributed ledger technology, cryptocurrencies, automation, and data management. The chapter identifies data as a pivotal driver of change in interactions within the financial services industry in Canada.
• 05:00 - 06:00: Digital Authentication and Machine Learning The chapter discusses the advancements in digital authentication enabled by modern computing power, particularly through mobile devices. It highlights the role of biometrics and face recognition in securely and conveniently authenticating identity, emphasizing the relevance and convenience they bring to everyday life.
• 06:00 - 07:00: Evolving Banking Services and Ecosystem The chapter discusses the evolution of banking services, emphasizing the impact of technology and the COVID-19 pandemic. It highlights the shift in consumer behavior where physical lines at banks are seen as inconvenient, indicating a significant transformation in the delivery and accessibility of banking services.
• 07:00 - 08:00: Modernizing Payments Infrastructure in Canada The chapter discusses the modernizing payment infrastructure in Canada, focusing on the financial services industry, which includes traditional banking and digital banking, payments, and other financial services. It highlights how these sectors are evolving in the digital age and the impact on the overall industry.

Debbie Gamble - The Impact of Digital Change in Financial Services Transcription

• 00:00 - 00:30 uh so what are the changes that are happening that are impacting uh interact in the financial services industry and how much of that is driven by technology today i think you know most of it's driven by technology honestly that like for all of us and this is this applies to every industry i'd say my industry that you know is really
• 00:30 - 01:00 kind of financial services and security probably is the best way to describe it um is it really all about digital enablement so if you think about you know our experiences and what that means are quite different to what your students experiences are right so your students are kind of digital natives yeah everything they do is digital um whether that be from you know kind of connecting with with your friends in your community to uh transacting to you know ordering
• 01:00 - 01:30 uh your food uh getting on transit whatever that might be so those those changes and they'll continue to accelerate and i'm sure your students are all familiar with things like moore's law which you know um just gets faster and faster and hopefully more economical which means it gets to be more accessible um will continue and i would say our experience over the challenges of the pandemic over the past couple of years
• 01:30 - 02:00 have proven out that a you know we can all continue to work remotely we can continue to learn remotely although that's probably not our preferred state but um the technology allows us to do that so in my world um things that that are really helping to spare on new innovation are pretty much the same as as everybody else as well as they the power of uh computing power continues to evolve the
• 02:00 - 02:30 cost of that computing power continues to be reduced it spares on you know fantastic innovation from things like distributed ledger and crypto to you know all kinds of automation um and data management and data is probably you know the topic of data is probably the major point of uh what is sparing on all of these changes in the way we interact because
• 02:30 - 03:00 now we have you know um computing power at our fingertips in our mobile devices that allow us to authenticate who we are very very well very securely using you know amazing things like biometrics and face recognition and and lots of other things um to really be able to just go about our daily lives in a you know a kind of more relevant more convenient manner
• 03:00 - 03:30 because of the technology technology and covert 19 um really brought that home to everybody to the point now where you know the notion of having to go and line up for something is probably more of an inconvenience than anything right so so we really we really do see a lot of changes so um you know i can i can kind of double down on that from my industry if you'd like i can talk a little bit
• 03:30 - 04:00 about what that means here okay so so uh in canada let me just talk about the financial services industry and and that the financial services industry is you know traditional banking that's not you know it's but it's it's uh quite digital now so um the banking industry the payments industry um and pretty much financial services you know um uh is actually an industry that touches
• 04:00 - 04:30 every other industry because everything we have to transact right so whether that be through the the technology and security around um authentication whether that be through some of the um recent mechanisms to deliver that on a phone you know many of your students will use apple pay google pay um and uh will be using crypto likely right um so many of that kind of
• 04:30 - 05:00 technology we we look at um and um id digital ideas is a big area for us digital authentication and and you know a lot of people kind of um get a little bit spooked on the notion of id but we authenticate ourselves and so if you think about it more around digital access and enablement is probably a better way to think about what does that mean to all of us um and
• 05:00 - 05:30 uh i mentioned data so the notion of of you know machine learning um nai and all of the amazing stuff that goes on in that sector these are things that that you know my industry look at and we do that with the technology providers some of the biggest companies around the world and then um kw there's a lot of them there right so a lot of amazing um
• 05:30 - 06:00 presence there and we've got our own canadian success stories for many of them as well um so we we look at that and we look at how do we see that evolving both from a you know a a banking perspective how does the bank engage with you how do they ensure they're providing relevant services to you how what devices what mechanisms for engaging with you um how do they deliver new capabilities to you
• 06:00 - 06:30 how do they work with the innovators in the market you know whether that be startups um that are working with companies like communitech and kw or with the university um you know we work with the ecosystem um quite broadly and we actively engage with the government and the policy makers around where we think some of those trends are going to take us whether that be you know um some of the ones i mentioned
• 06:30 - 07:00 crypto uh nfts um there's a quite a big movement going on in canada at the moment with the ecosystem led by um the government the regulators and the large players in the ecosystem to modernize our payments infrastructure so uh we spend a lot of time on that with um with the government at the the federal and the provincial levels and we spend a lot of time with bank of canada and department of finance to make sure that
• 07:00 - 07:30 whatever those services are that you know we have the appropriate infrastructure and capabilities to allow canadians to um you know to to use the best um and most relevant capabilities in the market at the time to really just go about your daily business