# Five Technologies Set to Impact Commercial Banking in 2018 and Beyond
Author:  Pal Sinha, Barnali 
Author URL: https://financedigest.com/author/pal-sinha-barnali
Published: 2018-03-20
Category: BANKING
Category URL: https://financedigest.com/category/banking
Meta Title: Top 5 Technologies Transforming Commercial Banking Today
Meta Description: Discover the top technologies revolutionising commercial banking today, from biometrics to artificial intelligence and APIs. Stay ahead of the curve with
Tags: featured
Tag URLs: featured (https://financedigest.com/tag/featured)
URL: https://financedigest.com/five-technologies-set-to-impact-commercial-banking-in-2018-and-beyondhtml

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By **Russell Bennett**, Chief Technology Officer at Fraedom.

Over the past five years, technology has proved a disruptor, fundamentally changing the way that businesses work. The financial services world has not been immune. Many [retail banks](https://www.financedigest.com/transforming-the-retail-banking-ecosystem-its-all-about-technological-innovation.html "TRANSFORMING THE RETAIL BANKING ECOSYSTEM: IT’S ALL ABOUT TECHNOLOGICAL INNOVATION") are already successfully catering to customers’ digital needs. Business banking is now beginning to follow retail’s lead – and here we outline five of the top [technologies transforming the world of commercial banking](https://www.financedigest.com/6-technology-trends-banking-2019.html "6 Technology Trends for Banking in 2019") today.

[**Biometrics and security**](https://www.financedigest.com/taming-the-new-wild-west-how-biometrics-can-help-the-ecb-deliver-a-secure-digital-euro.html "Taming the ‘new wild west’: how biometrics can help the ECB deliver a secure digital euro")

When adopting new payment methodologies, banks must strike a balance between ease-of-use, ease-of-access, and the need to [maintain stringent security](https://www.financedigest.com/maintaining-security-and-compliance-amid-digital-transformation-in-financial-services.html "Maintaining Security and Compliance amid Digital Transformation in Financial Services"). Fingerprint authentication is now in mainstream use and rapidly giving way to the latest [facial recognition](https://www.financedigest.com/how-ai-looks-set-to-power-facial-recognition-passport-adoption-across-southeast-asia-post-covid.html "How AI looks set to power facial recognition passport adoption across Southeast Asia post-COVID") functionality. We’ve already seen that consumer [payment methods using biometric](https://www.financedigest.com/how-biometric-payments-are-tackling-financial-exclusion.html "How Biometric Payments Are Tackling Financial Exclusion") authentication are becoming increasingly mainstream, so it is unlikely to be long before corporate clients are expecting to see the same.

Extending this functionality into [corporate cards has the potential to make the commercial payments](https://www.financedigest.com/what-does-the-future-hold-for-corporate-payments.html "What Does the Future Hold for Corporate Payments?") process more seamless and secure. While challenges remain, mobile wallets that defer to the individual’s personal attributes to make [secure payments](https://www.financedigest.com/contactless-payments-the-way-of-the-future-or-security-scare.html "Contactless Payments – The Way of the Future or Security Scare?") on these cards, whether authenticated by phone or by “selfie”, offer a potential route forward.

**The growing role of [artificial intelligence](https://www.financedigest.com/artificial-intelligence-in-banking-robo-advisors-and-beyond.html "Artificial Intelligence in Banking – Robo Advisors and beyond") (AI)**

Automation – [replacing humans](https://www.financedigest.com/human-robotics-will-robots-replace-bankers.html "Human Robotics: Will Robots replace Bankers?") with machines to perform repetitive actions – is dramatically increasing the number of financial transactions in an organisation. However, while it can track and store many more processes than humans can – and more accurately – it can’t, currently at least, provide the [next level service](https://www.financedigest.com/is-ai-taking-quality-and-cost-optimization-of-enterprise-services-to-the-next-level.html "Is AI taking quality and cost optimization of enterprise services to the next level?") many clients are coming to expect of their financial partners: planning and modelling.1

AI is rapidly establishing itself as the missing piece of the puzzle that takes the various data flows created by automated transactions and knits them together to discover patterns. All this is very important to commercial banks because patterns in spending and efficiency can [potentially deliver](https://www.financedigest.com/delivering-on-the-potential-of-open-finance.html "Delivering on the potential of open finance") valuable insights clients can use to improve their financial health.

**APIs – an approach whose time has come**

As is the case in many other sectors of the economy, commercial [banks are focused on providing better customer experiences](https://www.financedigest.com/key-considerations-for-building-an-inclusive-digital-banking-experience-fit-for-the-future.html "Key considerations for building an inclusive Digital Banking Experience fit for the Future"), and, by so doing, winning new business and reducing churn rates. Customers’ demands, and expectations, move as rapidly as the leading-edge technology they are exposed to, so there is growing pressure on the [banking industry to provide](https://www.financedigest.com/are-banks-destined-to-merely-become-infrastructure-providers-in-the-banking-industry-of-the-future.html "Are banks destined to merely become infrastructure providers in the banking industry of the future?") new, easy-to-use, frictionless digital services fast.

Application programming interfaces (APIs) provide the technology to exchange customer data with other parties in a simple and secure way2, facilitating rapid [innovation in products and services](https://www.financedigest.com/accelerating-financial-services-innovation-with-the-promise-of-data-mesh.html "Accelerating financial services innovation with the promise of data mesh "). Creating new applications such as voice banking, P2P, loan processing and risk management and using APIs as building blocks, is now seen as the best way to keep up with the innovation [challenges facing](https://www.financedigest.com/how-to-overcome-the-challenges-faced-by-women-in-business-4.html "How to overcome the challenges faced by women in business") the financial industry.

Fintechs have dominated the API landscape by creating apps that have challenged, and in some cases, surpassed solutions made by the [banking industry](https://www.financedigest.com/how-is-green-finance-reshaping-the-banking-industry.html "How is green finance reshaping the banking industry?").

To keep pace, [banks now need to either invest](https://www.financedigest.com/investment-banks-trading-revenue-likely-to-shrink-barclays-boss-says.html "Investment banks’ trading revenue likely to shrink, Barclays boss says") heavily to develop this technology themselves or partner with fintechs in a bid to be more effective and efficient.3 By working together and taking advantage of APIs, [banks and fintech firms](https://www.financedigest.com/bank-of-england-publishes-rules-for-energy-firms-liquidity-tool.html "Bank of England publishes rules for energy firms’ liquidity tool") can leverage their complementary strengths, enhancing the customer experience much more than either entity could do on its own.

**ePayables – Crossing over from the Consumer to the Commercial World**

The use of different payment types (whether it is plastic, [virtual or via mobile](https://www.financedigest.com/augmented-reality-ar-virtual-reality-vr-to-dictate-the-growth-of-mobile-operating-tables-market.html "Augmented Reality (AR)/Virtual Reality (VR) to dictate the growth of Mobile Operating Tables Market") wallet) is partly a response to the consumerisation of our financial experience. Corporate clients can’t understand why payments should still be a laborious process of raising invoices and purchase orders, requesting printed cheques or [bank transfers and creating lengthy payment](https://www.financedigest.com/the-latest-trends-in-instant-payments-and-how-they-impact-banks.html "The latest trends in instant payments and how they impact banks") terms.

Instead, the immediacy of a card – real, virtual or embedded in an app – ties all the above elements together. It gives unsurpassed traceability and is easy to add to financial [management software](https://www.financedigest.com/document-management-software-market-to-expand-at-a-value-cagr-of-12-3.html "Document Management Software Market to expand at a value CAGR of 12.3%").

Historically, paying by using a card has been seen as a debt generator. Credit cards, after all, incur interest. However, using payment cards as a substitute for invoice terms makes them a useful tool, not only to enhance a company’s working capital positions, but also to improve traceability, [security and the level of control that can be placed on business spend](https://www.financedigest.com/is-the-next-big-cyber-threat-mis-placed-security-spending.html "Is the next big cyber threat mis-placed security spending?").

**Expense [Management Systems](https://www.financedigest.com/energy-management-system-market-to-register-a-cagr-of-14-8.html "Energy Management System Market to register a CAGR of 14.8%") (EMS) – Getting the Benefit of a Holistic View**

An Expense [Management Systems](https://www.financedigest.com/traffic-management-systems-growing-at-a-cagr-of-22-5-for-2022-28.html "Traffic Management Systems growing at a CAGR of 22.5% for 2022 – 28") (EMS) is just one of many tools that can be brought together into a single financial view, helping businesses gain greater control over expenditure.

Unlike written expense policies and separate transactional management software, an EMS embeds expense policies into the technology, allowing real-time reconciliation and approvals to take place.

**[Technology Shaping the Commercial Banking Future](https://www.financedigest.com/technology-skills-and-servitization-a-brighter-future-for-manufacturing.html "TECHNOLOGY, SKILLS AND SERVITIZATION: A BRIGHTER FUTURE FOR MANUFACTURING?")**

Up to now, retail banking has been ahead of the game in embracing new technologies and [digital disruption](https://www.financedigest.com/the-road-to-digital-disruption-in-motor-insurance.html "The road to digital disruption in Motor Insurance"), making commercial banking look sluggish by comparison. This is a situation that is changing fast as [corporate banks](https://www.financedigest.com/bank-of-england-sets-out-plans-to-sell-23-billion-corporate-bond-stockpile.html "Bank of England sets out plans to sell  billion corporate bond stockpile") grasp the need to take advantage of the latest technologies to ensure commercial clients are gaining the same kinds of benefits – from workflow efficiencies through to intuitive, mobile first experiences. It’s a trend that is picking up pace and likely to accelerate further in the [years to come](https://www.financedigest.com/refrigerated-trailer-market-to-exhibit-increased-demand-in-the-coming-years.html "Refrigerated Trailer Market to Exhibit Increased Demand in the Coming Years").


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