The OCBC Mobile Banking app now offers an artificial intelligence-powered, voice-based virtual assistant, which has already helped with over 20,000 requests made via voice since the feature's launch last August. In half of these requests, the customer was seeking information about spending categories and budgets; another 30% concerned past banking transactions. Other mobile banking services that were performed using voice included locating ATMs, paying bills and changing banking PINs. The new voice-activated banking service, which was developed and trained over 13 months and is called the OCBC Banking Assistant, 'lives' in the OCBC Mobile Banking app. The customer speaks to the assistant as if conversing with a human assistant – and the requested banking task gets done.

Ngee Ann Polytechnic and Centre for Finance, Technology and Entrepreneurship (CFTE) are about to launch AI in Finance (AIF), the first online programme for finance professionals. Despite the growing hype around Artificial Intelligence (AI), many finance professionals are still unfamiliar with the impact it will have on their industry. Ngee Ann Polytechnic (NP), one of Singapore's leading institutes of higher learning, is partnering with London-based Centre for Finance, Technology and Entrepreneurship (CFTE) to launch the first online course to showcase AI applications and use cases in the banking industry. "AI is a technological driving force that no industry can ignore. Some studies estimate that about 50 per cent of today's tasks would be assisted by AI in the next 20 years. With Singapore and London gaining recognition as leading fintech hubs of the world, it is timely for NP and CFTE to launch an industry-led course that provides finance professionals and others a practical guide to AI." "You will also see that a lot more can be automated in future. If you want to keep your job, you need to question both what your role will be in this automated future, and what impact artificial intelligence will have on your area of the business."

SINGAPORE: Crafted to resemble human-likeness with natural looking skin and hair, Nadine, described by its makers as a social humanoid, greets a person when he enters the room, makes eye contact and remembers his face. She smiles and listens intently as one speaks, cracking a joke occasionally. But when provoked, she gets upset too. Made in Singapore, the artificial intelligence robot, which was unveiled by the Nanyang Technological University's (NTU) Institute for Media Innovation in 2015, has made significant strides in the past three years, including the ability to recognise faces and remember conversations. Plans are underway for another public showcase next month, and researchers hope that before long, Nadine will be able to walk as well as identify and grasp objects with her hands.

Singapore's Ngee Ann Polytechnic (NP) and London-based Centre for Finance, Technology and Entrepreneurship (CFTE) will jointly launch an industry-led AI in Finance (AIF) online course on June 24, 2018. Through this course, both NP and CFTE hope to support and to nurture talent in Fintech and to boost Fintech development in their respective regions and around the world. The course is accredited by SkillsFuture Singapore and is in the process of obtaining accreditation with The Institute of Banking and Finance Singapore. It aims to update finance professionals and technologists on the AI revolution and create an online community of learners and experts in AI to connect and network for future collaborations. Over 20 finance and technology thought leaders and insiders will come together to share key fundamentals and real-life case studies on how AI is reshaping the finance industry worldwide.

OCBC Bank has launched artificial intelligence (AI) powered voice banking in collaboration with Google, following the launch of Google Home and Google Home Mini in Singapore. Consumers will be able to speak to the Google Assistant on a smartphone or a Google Home device to initiate a conversation about the bank's service offerings. OCBC Bank remains as the only bank to offer voice-based banking in Singapore. In addition, users can also speak to OCBC via the Google Assistance to calculate the mortgage loan amount they can afford, check unit trust prices and get foreign exchange rates among others. The Google Assistant will provide consumers with another self-service digital channel to interact with OCBC Bank that is both convenient and embedded in consumers' lives.

OCBC Bank is the first in Singapore to launch artificial intelligence (AI) powered voice banking in collaboration with Google. With Google Home and Google Home Mini launched in Singapore today, anyone can now speak to the Google Assistant – on a smartphone or a Google Home device – to initiate a conversation about OCBC Bank's services. These services range from planning for retirement or a new home to saving for a child's education, getting the latest financial market updates, and more. The proliferation of digital voice assistants is tipped to impact the consumer technology market this year. A 2018 Digital Consumer Survey by Accenture of 21,000 online consumers in 19 countries, including Singapore, indicates year-on-year growth of stand-alone digital voice assistants will increase 50 per cent in 2018, suggesting consumers are increasingly comfortable talking to digital voice assistants and smart home devices.

Consumers will be able to speak to the Google Assistant on a smartphone or a Google Home device to initiate a conversation about the bank's service offerings. OCBC Bank becomes the first bank to offer voice-based banking in Singapore. The Google Assistant will provide consumers with another self-service digital channel to interact with OCBC Bank that is embedded in consumers' lives. The consumers can get instant responses by posing general banking questions to the Google Assistant at any time of the day. This integration complements other self-service digital channels such as AI-powered chatbot'Emma', which was launched in 2017 and is specialised in answering home and renovation loan queries on the OCBC Bank website.

Annual worldwide AI revenue is projected to grow from $644 million in 2016 to $37 billion by 2025, with top use cases including algorithmic trading strategy performance improvement; static image recognition, classification, and tagging; efficient, scalable processing of patient data; predictive maintenance; content distribution on social media; and more. The financial services industry is no stranger to machine learning – a number of large institutions continue to successfully implement the technology across such areas as risk analytics and regulation, customer segmentation, cross-selling and upselling, sales and marketing campaign management, creditworthiness evaluation. Among institutions that are applying machine learning are BBVA, JPMorgan Chase, HSBC, OCBC, and many more. "Credit applications and underwriting are the key areas where machine learning, and data analytics in general, will have an initial impact. The outcomes will include cost reductions, increased efficiency, and less onerous customer experiences," experts suggest.

OCBC Bank has launched a comprehensive human resource mobile application, HR In Your Pocket, which includes an artificial intelligence-powered chatbot that is integrated with the bank's HR information system to provide immediate and personalised responses. This places OCBC as the first bank in Singapore to have launched such an app. According to a media release, HR In Your Pocket was developed in-house and through feedback from employees wanting to be able to access HR information and perform HR-related matters anywhere and anytime, without having to contact the HR team or be seated at their desks. The app will benefit the bank's employees in Singapore by giving them access to a holistic HR resource centre for leave applications, tracking of employee medical and lifestyle expense reimbursement claims, internal job postings and OCBC Bank's people directory. It will be rolled out in OCBC Malaysia by the end of the year. Additionally, the app will feature an in-built chatbot, "Buddy", which will be able to answer employees' HR-related questions instantly.