Machine learning will make banking easier before it makes it better, say German fintechs and banks. Customers might not yet notice it, but Germany's banks are slowly waking up to artificial intelligence. They hope thinking computers can help them sort through regulatory jungles, fight money laundering or even help analyze customers. "In the next few years, the increase is likely to be driven mainly by efficiency improvements, and later new products and services could have a greater effect," says Christian Kirschniak, a data expert and partner at PwC. The consultancy believes AI's contribution could be similar to that of the first computer revolution and contribute $2 trillion (€1.73 trillion) to global GDP by 2030, in part by relieving financial sector employees of tedious, monotonous tasks that traditional computers can't perform.