Published: Apr 08, 2025

Industry leader insights from the 2025 Financial Services Summit

By Andrew Carr, Director of Financial Services(VIC), NCS Australia
 

The Digital Financial Services Summit provides invaluable opportunities to hear our financial services’ clients’ unfiltered challenges and aspirations, allowing us to tailor our solutions to their evolving needs. At NCS, our Financial Services team are focused on delivering more value and better quality to our clients – and our relationships are built on trust and a commitment to genuinely understand and support their needs in this evolving, highly regulated sector.

I moderated a keynote panel exploring the trends, technologies, economic pressures, and regulations impacting financial services. I was joined on stage by Kylie Waldock, CEO of MoneyPlace; Sean O’Donnell, Chief Digital Officer at Defence Bank; Paige Vincent, COO of Hollard Insurance; Ammon Mackie, General Manager Commercial Business Transformation at Allianz and Peter Lawrence, Digital and Technology Strategist at Hesta. 

Here are some key takeaways spotlighted by this expert panel at this important industry event.
 

Digital-first or digital-only Customer Experience

The panel shared their experiences in adapting to changing customer expectations over time and reflected on the role of data in shaping their strategies. They discussed maintaining a seamless handover between digital and human-assisted channels to ensure a frictionless customer experience. The enthusiasm for digital solutions in the insurance broker landscape was highlighted, along with efforts to meet brokers' needs using digital solutions. The focus on connected experiences for different member cohorts and areas where interactions are unlikely to change to digital in the medium term was also addressed.

Business and industry insights

• Having control of your data and having clean data is essential to being able to deliver a digital experience 
• A multi-channel strategy with a focus on frictionless handover between channels is necessary. 
• There will always be use cases where personal interactions are required, such as hardship cases and quick hand over to a human agent is an important component of any strategy.
   

Role of Generative AI

Business and industry insights

• AI has the power to deliver transformational change but is also a key industry disruptor.
• Getting the foundations right is key to succeeding with an AI journey (think: scalability, security + data governance) 
• Using AI to help agents enhance customer interactions is a key focus area. 
• Consideration of risk is crucial in determining areas for AI implementation. 
• AI is likely to be used to defend against bad actors using AI for fraud and financial crime.

Role of fintechs as disruptors

The panel discussed navigating relationships with both banks and fintechs to drive innovation, while staying competitive. In the Insurance segment, the shift in Insuretech's focus from end-to-end platforms to specific areas of innovation was explored, and the panel shared approaches to responding to fintechs as well-established players in the industry.

Business and industry insights 

• Fintechs are moving from providing end-to-end competitor solutions to targeting specific areas for innovation. 
• Identifying the right areas to partner on innovation is important, and partnering with the right Fintech is key.
   

Regulatory and compliance

The discussions on regulatory engagement covered specific regulatory changes shaping strategies and adapting to evolving requirements, including CPS230 and others. The balance of regulation in a risk-based environment was addressed, along with the potential of regulation and compliance as disruptors and value distractors. Proactive engagement with regulatory bodies to shape industry discussions on policy and compliance was emphasised.

Business and industry insights

• Regulation and compliance are the number one disruptors and potential value distractors. 
• Customers expect companies to be compliant to build trust. 
• Proactive engagement with industry groups and regulators is a way to shape industry regulation and compliance. 
   

Forefront Events' Digital Financial Services Summit was held on Thursday, April 3, 2025, at the Sofitel on Collins in Melbourne. It was a day-long event that brought together industry leaders to discuss the future of financial services in the digital age. NCS sponsored the 2025 Summit, hosted a plenary panel, and facilitated a roundtable lunch, providing a platform for thought-provoking discussions and valuable networking opportunities.