By Rodrigo Cantelli*
The evolution of retail has been driven by technological advances that transform the way we interact, on a daily basis, with stores, banks, supermarkets and various other services.
Recently, during my garden leave, I deepened my studies on these topics in the Leading AI-Driven Organizations programs at MIT – Massachusetts Institute of Technology, and the Corporate Governance Program – Developing Exceptional Board Leaders at Columbia University. Both, from complementary perspectives, addressed topics such as business evolution, the impact of new technologies, the state of the art in management and governance, as well as the challenges and opportunities that arise for business leaders.
The transformation of the banking sector
Technology has played an increasing role in the evolution of retail banking and the payments market, redefining, above all, the interaction between consumers and banks. Over the past few decades, the banking sector has undergone technological milestones that reflect this transformation and indicate future trends:
- The agency’s client: In my first job, as an office boy, my main tasks involved paying bills and cashing checks at bank branches. At the time, I had to go to the specific branch where my account was located, which required multiple visits every day. With online systems, this routine has become obsolete for the new generations.
- The digital channels revolution – Internet Banking and Apps: The introduction of Internet Banking and, later, mobile apps brought the bank into the palm of the customer’s hand. The result was a drastic reduction in the need for in-person visits for everyday operations, such as paying bills and making transfers.
- PIX and Fintechs – the decline of the physical channel: The massive adoption of PIX, the emergence of fintechs and fully digital banks, have practically eliminated the need for physical visits to branches for routine transactions. It is no coincidence that we are witnessing the mass closure of so-called “bank stores”. Just like in traditional retail, without customer traffic there is no justification for keeping a service point open.
What’s next? The influence of big tech
The banking sector is experiencing another turning point. The trend is towards the consolidation of banks’ APPs into unified platforms, replacing fragmentation by segments, products or geographies. The inspiration comes from high technology: Amazon, Netflix and Uber operate global, highly customizable platforms that use machine learning to offer consistent and personalized experiences, regardless of geographic location.
In Brazil, neobanks are leading this journey, taking advantage of the absence of heavy technological legacies and a more flexible regulatory environment. However, they still face challenges related to the lack of breadth of the product portfolio offered when compared to large banks. The latter, in turn, still mostly segment their solutions into different applications for different functions (card, checking account, international account, etc.) and customer profiles (low and high income, for example).
The turn of artificial intelligence in the financial sector
As in other markets, Artificial Intelligence is the new hot topic. But despite expectations, it must be said that AI is not a silver bullet. It is a tool — a powerful one, yes — for improving processes and experiences.
One of the first examples of use comes with Deep Learning , which has enabled the evolution of credit granting and risk analysis models. This makes it possible to increase the volume of credit offered with greater precision and without increasing provisions for doubtful debts (PDD).
Machine Learning has the potential to revolutionize behavioral modeling , offering highly assertive product suggestions, cross-selling, and upselling. Imagine a customer with a positive account balance, an investor profile, and a consistent history of payments via PIX: banks will be able to suggest suitable investments or lines of credit at the most opportune time.
On the other hand, financial institutions need to step up their investments in anti-fraud systems, keeping up to date with new AI-based techniques, as some gangs have been appropriating these technologies.
The new customer experience in retail banking
With branches closed, the financial sector faces the challenge of remotely serving middle- and low-income customers who previously relied on specialists for in-person service. While other retail sectors have created alternative solutions, the banking model is still searching for an effective format.
Nos EUA e no Brasil, os Work Cafés do Santander oferecem suporte presencial em um ambiente de café (leia-se com acesso a wi-fi), mas essa solução não tem escalabilidade. Atualmente, as principais alternativas são contact centers, chatbots e correspondentes bancários/agêntes autonomos de investimentos, que enfrentam limitações. Chatbots muitas vezes não atendem bem a diferentes gerações, enquanto correspondentes bancários e agêntes autonomos carecem de conhecimento amplo sobre produtos financeiros e sofrem com incentivos desalinhados às reais necessidades dos clientes.
O caminho: GenAI e o Human in the Loop
A melhor solução para o varejo bancário pode estar no uso de agentes de IA Generativa (GenAI) para atender clientes em tempo real por canais acessíveis, como o WhatsApp. Treinada para serviços financeiros, a GenAI pode elevar a qualidade do atendimento, mas o conceito de Human in the Loop segue essencial. Assim, a IA deve complementar, não substituir, o suporte humano. Com essa abordagem, é possível identificar automaticamente produtos financeiros adequados e contatar o cliente no momento e canal ideais, aprimorando a experiência de atendimento.
Dados e governança: os alicerces da nova era
Dados são essenciais para a IA, e uma governança robusta deve integrar estratégias como supervised fine-tuning, Retrieval Augmented Generation (RAG) e prompt engineering, sempre com o conceito de Human in the Loop. Esse modelo fortalece a Responsible AI (RAI), garantindo o desenvolvimento e uso ético, transparente e seguro da inteligência artificial.
Sem dúvidas, a próxima fronteira do varejo bancário está em construção, com seus pilares na combinação de dados, tecnologia e inteligência humana para criar jornadas mais fluidas e confiáveis para os clientes. Vale lembrar sempre que as empresas que criam IA devem ser responsáveis pelos impactos e decisões que ela toma. Afinal, não dá apenas para “culpar o algoritmo”!
*Rodrigo Cantelli é VP de Varejo da Sociedade de Usuários da Tecnologia de São Paulo (SUCESU-SP)
Pamella Barbara
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