An Australian ‘Neobank’ with a 24 hour AI assistant leads the way for future banking

These days it’s hard for 9 to 5 working people to get all their banking needs done within bank opening hours -- unless you take an extra half hour lunch break or hit two birds with one stone and cram in a work while you run to get there in time.

This is where the concept of a “Neobank” might make life easier for busy people. Noebanks promise to help sort finances through virtual platforms, where your money miraculously exists in digital wallet.

Digital banks or 'Neobanks' could be a convenient option for some, however taking the human element out of customer banking isn’t everyone’s cup of tea.

Australian based fintech company, Douugh however have conviction that AI driven digital banking is the way of the future.

They believe traditional banks are failing to properly educate people about money management, and as a result some customers are stuck in a cycle of debt.

Douugh’s virtual platform provides the user with their very own A.I financial assistant named Sophie and she isn’t too far off from Apple’s ‘Siri’ or Google’s ‘Alexa’.

Sophie offers real time insights and notifications, helping the user learn responsible spending, and set realistic financial goals.

Let’s face it, in this digital age it isn’t that uncommon to learn that there’s artificially intelligent technology created to help save you money!

Founder and CEO of Douugh, Andy Taylor says the future of banking is all about data and identity.

‘Our ultimate goal is to become a platform business, offering a financial control centre where people’s finances are managed on autopilot.’ Mr Taylor said.

They’ve designed Sophie to help users live financially healthier and happier lives, with a mission to democratize the banking world in 2019.

They’ve also recently partnered with Mastercard to roll out a smart bank account. Mastercard has already begun to transition into a more tech-driven company, as the business pushes toward its vision to become a digital payment giant.

Australian traditional banks move toward the digital age

It seems that Neobanks are not the only ones taking advantage of digital-first technology, some Australian banks are discovering that digital banking is already being used as first choice.

ANZ bank has noticed a significant shift in mobile-use through digital payments. Their data shows more customers are using their phones to make payments than ever before.

The recently released ANZ data shows more Christmas shoppers this year are using mobile phones to make payments than years before.

ANZ data analysed mobile transactions from October through to December last year and compared it to data from October to November this year, finding mobile device payments increased 100% in 2018.

ANZ Customer Engagement Lead, Kath Bray says customers are using their phones more and more and she expects numbers to grow in 2019 and beyond.

“During the year customers predominantly use their smart phone or watch to pay for everyday items, but as we get closer to Christmas we see more customers using it at department stores, electronics outlets, hardware and food and beverage retailers,” Ms Bray said.

With the rise of the digital age, and an increase in mobile-use digital payments this Christmas, smartphones are now being used for everything from ordering food to paying for Christmas presents.

As society moves toward the digital sphere, the question remains: Will we eventually become completely reliant on ‘digital wallets’ to handle our finances? That is an inevitability that we must ponder coming into the new year.