Vol - 19 | October 2024

Foreword

First Principles Thinking

Understanding the importance of innovation in the financial sector, it is crucial to embrace First Principles Thinking to address customers’ evolving needs and technology’s increasing complexity. This approach involves breaking down complex problems into their most basic elements and building up solutions from there, leading to more effective and novel solutions vital for innovation in the banking industry.

The adoption of First Principles Thinking is exemplified in the development of eMACH.ai, a composable and intelligent Open Finance platform that addresses pivotal shifts in the financial sector. By leveraging this approach, financial institutions can tailor solutions to specific customer segments, leading to more customised and responsive financial services centered around customer needs. This successful integration of First Principles Thinking with cutting-edge technology has already led to a significant reduction in technology costs for banks, demonstrating its efficiency and effectiveness in the financial sector.

By challenging fundamental assumptions and focusing on customer needs, this approach has led to the development of more efficient, customer-centric, and cost-effective solutions. As financial institutions continue to embrace these methodologies, we can expect to see further innovations that prioritise customer satisfaction and drive higher profitability in the banking sector.

Arun Jain
Chairman and Managing Director
Intellect Design Arena Ltd

Cover Story

Delivering Customer-Centric Banking With First Principle Thinking

Arun Jain, the Chairman & Managing Director of Intellect Design Arena recently spoke to FF News about how First Principles Thinking and Design Thinking are revolutionising financial technology.

By breaking down complex problems to their core and focusing on customer needs, Mr. Jain discusses how Intellect has developed eMACH.ai—a platform transforming financial institutions from product-centric thinking to customer-centric ecosystems.

First Principles Thinking and its Importance in Technology Development

First Principles Thinking is a problem-solving approach that involves breaking down complex problems into their most basic elements and building up solutions from there. Mr Jain contrasts this with management thinking, which focuses on resource maximization and optimization. In the context of design thinking, which emerged in the early 1990s and emphasizes understanding unmet needs to create opportunities, First Principles Thinking involves questioning fundamental assumptions on banking processes and user journeys, in view of the value Banks intend to provide to their end customers. This approach is vital for innovation, as it allows for a deeper understanding of the underlying principles governing a system, leading to more effective and novel solutions.

Mr Jain explains that the evolution of financial technology which has defined banking thus far-from mainframes to cloud computing-has led to an increase in complexity. Design thinking helps simplify this complexity by focusing on the core values and needs of banking systems. By distilling these values, organizing the right thinking spaces, and expanding performance frameworks, technology can more effectively impact business outcomes. This method ensures that technology development aligns with the essential functions and values that customers seek in financial services, thereby creating more intuitive and effective solutions.

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Spotlight:

Spotlight

Intellect Research Publication is a compendium of insightful articles that will set the agenda for banks and financial institutions that are looking to become cognitive and digital enterprises. At Intellect Research Publication (IRP), we believe that the world’s banking and financial institutions can grow exponentially if they harness the power of First Principles Thinking.

IRP is built on the principles of Expertise, Evidence and Experience, making it the most authoritative publication in an industry that lacks a single source of intellectual content on the subject. It offers authoritative insights, analyses, and commentaries on the latest industry trends and is a forward-thinking resource that empowers institutions with Enterprise Connected Intelligence to navigate challenges, seize opportunities, and drive sustained success.

As the financial technology landscape undergoes rapid transformations, our commitment to providing thought leadership remains steadfast, with the Publication serving as a beacon for industry players seeking not only to understand the current state of fintech but also to shape its future.

To download the publication, click here

Intellect Unveils eMACH.ai Revolutionizing Sri Lanka’s Financial Landscape

Financial Landscape

With an impressive array of 329 microservices, 535 events and over 1757 APIs, this First Principles Thinking-based Platform enables financial institutions in the Island Nation to build future-ready solutions, providing them with a global competitive edge.

Sri Lanka is at a pivotal point in its digital transformation journey. The launch of eMACH.ai in Sri Lanka comes at a time when fintech innovation is rapidly reshaping the financial services landscape globally. Key trends such as the rise of digital payments, AI-driven banking solutions, Open Banking frameworks, and cloud-based infrastructure are redefining how financial institutions operate worldwide.

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Recent Success & Implementation

Intellect in the News

Industry Watch

The future is now: Open Finance is here to stay

In today’s world of instant and cross-border payments, the era of Open Finance has well and truly arrived.

Customer demands are changing, and data is becoming increasingly vital for financial institutions. Open Finance allows banks to address these trends by creating a thriving financial ecosystem, by widening the access to banking services and by putting the consumer back at the centre of financial services.

The industry agrees; according to Finastra research, 87% of 900+ senior banking executives surveyed believe that open finance is positively impacting the industry and making it more collaborative.

 

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48% of experts say open finance will be a standardised market model by 2030

Technological and digital innovation, together with regulatory innovation and the inclusion of new players in the financial ecosystem, have driven the implementation of open finance (Open Banking or Open Finance).

In the view of 48% of industry experts, Open Finance will be a market standard by 2030, while for 20% it already is. Thus, open finance stands out for allowing greater openness of competition, for the variety of channels or ubiquity and for its ability to exploit cross-industry synergies thanks to embedded finance.

According to the Minsait Payments Open Finance Report, the different rates of adaptation to this new model are mainly due to a lack of appetite in the market (according to 26% of those consulted) or to disparities in regulatory frameworks depending on the region.

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Unleashing potential: Exploring generative AI’s role in banking

Banking executives have always been quick to embrace new technologies. First, it was the internet and quickly created online banking services. Banks turned smartphones into mobile banking solutions. Cloud allowed them to collaborate with clients and colleagues in real-time. Now, they see genAI emerging and are asking themselves (and the rest of the business) how this new and disruptive technology might change their world for the better.

Bank executives are clearly very bullish about the potential of genAI. In fact, in the KPMG global tech report 2023, 61 percent of banking technology leaders said they believe genAI, AI and machine learning will be critical to enabling the business to achieve its short-term ambitions. Conversations with bank technology leaders suggest they are inundated with requests from the business for genAI support.

 

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