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Opinion | Prime time for blockchain, emergence of smart robots and other top Asian banking trends likely in Year of the Dog

The digital trend is not a thing, it’s the thing and the rulers will be those who master data. Legacy players are either going to have to truly become digitally agile to compete, or risk being left behind

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Cryptocurrencies were all the rage last year, but the underlying technology behind many of them – blockchain and digital ledger technology – are being tipped to take the spotlight in 2018 with the very first at scale use cases in Asia-Pacific. Photo: EPA

It’s the Year of the Dog, so what should you expect to change this year in the financial services world? As the old saying goes, “it’s difficult to make predictions, especially about the future”.

But given recent technological trends, we can make some good guesses about what’s to come in the 12 months ahead.

Cryptocurrencies have been all the rage the past year, but the underlying technology behind many of them – blockchain and digital ledger technology – will take the spotlight in 2018 with the very first at scale use cases in Asia-Pacific.

Banks and insurers will embrace more automation, adding artificial intelligence (AI) to create the next generation of intelligent robots that will interact with customers.

This list is by no means exhaustive, but hopefully it’s a good start to get people excited about what’s ahead. So, here are some of the top trends to keep an eye on this year, presented in no particular order.

Expect more financial services firms to implement cloud services and other digital strategies alongside older systems, instead of ripping and replacing the legacy infrastructure, argues, Accenture’s Piyush Singh. A stand-alone strategy simply won’t work – it’s time to get real and embrace it everywhere. Photo: istock
Expect more financial services firms to implement cloud services and other digital strategies alongside older systems, instead of ripping and replacing the legacy infrastructure, argues, Accenture’s Piyush Singh. A stand-alone strategy simply won’t work – it’s time to get real and embrace it everywhere. Photo: istock
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