How Technology Affects Jobs in the Financial Services Industry

The Blue dot Team

The financial services landscape has been dramatically transformed by digital technology and fintech. Whereas just a few years ago, banks were playing “catch-up” with technology, today, banks, and financial institutions now offer a plethora of technology-based services. 

 

Examples include online trading apps and financial planning tools that customers access via smartphones or social media. This wave of financial technologies adds value to banks from the customers’ perspective, but it also puts pressure on the banks to work harder than ever to stay relevant in a fast-moving world.

Automation Concerns in the Financial Industry

In fact, 47% of financial services employees believe technology is putting their job at risk. This is according to a worldwide survey by data aggregator Emolument. Employees in the financial services industry are concerned when they see the growing trend of job cuts in favor of automation. McKinsey predicts that 30% of hours worked globally may be wiped out by 2030. 

 

The facts clearly lead to one conclusion:

Financial services employees must plan for the impact of digital transformation – today.

 

One of the first areas in the financial sector that are poised to be “taken over” by automation is customer interaction jobs. These jobs can be replaced by artificial intelligence (AI) in the form of chatbots and other technologies.

 

Another example is probably a new expression to most readers – the “Robo-advisor”. The Robo-advisor helps clients to build, adjust and maintain their investment portfolios. Robo-advisors don’t work without human intervention, of course. When the Robo-advisors complete their work, human managers review the investment portfolio. Over time, technology will improve, and the human intervention portion will be required for less time and work.

 

Bank branches worldwide are closing, and bank teller services are becoming fully automated. You can withdraw and deposit funds without human intervention. Checks can be deposited with a modern ATM banking machine. Consumers are using their phones at the point of interaction with their bank.

 

Where Financial Automation Leads to New Jobs

Only some things are job-negative in the financial sector. It takes teams of programmers and developers in order to create the automation that we all use when it comes to banking. It takes a human team to teach bank employees how to use the new technologies that is rolling out properly. Teaching tech requires soft skills – such as communication, personal attention, and a lot of empathy. For now, computer code cannot replicate those skills.

 

The Times They Are a Changin’ in Banking

To quote Bob Dylan, the times are a changin’ in banking and finance services. Keeping up with industry trends means diving into new and emerging financial technologies. Stay on top of fintech in order to stay relevant. Your role will quickly evolve over the next few years and will definitely require you to learn how to use many new financial technologies. If you see yourself as serving customers, then better technology will help you to better serve your customers.

 

How Blue dot Helps Banks with Tax Tech Automation

If you are looking to increase VAT reclaim while maintaining effortless compliance, Blue dot VATBox can help. VATBox has helped Michelin recover over €3,000,000. VATBox streamlines the global VAT recovery process, adding a layer of visibility, compliance, and data integrity.

 

Regarding taxable employee benefits (TEB), Blue dot helps businesses to efficiently track, report, and calculate taxable employee/fringe benefits. Our TEB solution is based on 5 pillars:

 

  1. Efficiency – Automation allows companies to reduce exposure and gain complete visibility over employee taxable expenses

 

  1. Compliance – Reduce exposure and massively improve tax compliance

 

  1. Scalability – Removes the frustration that a lot of finance teams and employees experience when they have to submit expenses, going back and forth with approvals.

 

  1. Data accuracy – 30% of corporate expense totals originate from expense noncompliance. All financial data needs to be accurate.

 

  1. Tax control framework – Ensures that teams have the process in place and tech support so that when the business grows their manual effort doesn’t grow as well. 

 

Get a head start on 2023 by automating your taxable employee benefits with Blue dot!

Learn more about digitalized compliance automation for modern employee spend

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