At the recent Digital Financial Services Summit VIC 2026, industry leaders gathered to explore how institutions can remain relevant and trusted amid rapid technological shifts. NCS’s Financial Services Leader for Australia, Sumit Chakrapani, moderated the panel Designing for Digital Humans: Personalisation, AI and Customer Retention.
The session featured some of the brightest minds in the industry:
- Alexis Denby, General Manager, Consumer & Growth at TAL
- Marnie Kerr, Chief Member & Marketing Officer at Defence Bank
- Milda Vait, Product Development Director, Innovation & Strategic Initiatives at ANZ
- Brendan Donoghue, Head of Digital & Customer Experience at UniSuper.
The conversations unpacked the delicate balance between artificial intelligence and authentic customer engagement. As financial services navigate the complexities of digital transformation, the panel highlighted a critical truth: technology must serve a strategic purpose. Success lies in solving genuine business and customer problems, rather than adopting AI technologies for novelty alone.
Insights from the panel
- Purpose-Driven Innovation: The primary focus must always remain on resolving actual member and business challenges. Deploying "generic AI" without a clear link to an organisation's bottom line is an ineffective strategy. Committing to the wrong technological model can carry significant financial and operational costs.
- The Enduring Value of Human Connection: Despite massive digital advancements, customer behaviour indicates a persistent desire for human interaction. Many customers still prefer speaking with staff or utilising call centres over fully automated digital channels, underscoring the need to prioritise customer needs and listen to their voices.
- AI as a Strategic Decision-Maker: Moving beyond basic content creation, AI is increasingly functioning as an intelligent decision maker. Institutions are actively exploring AI to enhance internal capabilities, specifically targeting knowledge management, robust governance, and heightened security.
- Customers as Co-Creators: Customers are actively using external generative AI tools to inform their financial decisions and product choices. Because these tools influence brand perception, organisations must prioritise authoritative external reviews and marketing to ensure their brand is recommended by AI-driven search engines.
- Personalisation and Agentic AI: When applied thoughtfully, AI has proven highly successful at personalising the customer experience. The next competitive frontier involves winning in the "agentic AI" space – empowering systems to proactively serve customers while maintaining trust.
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The key takeaway
The overarching sentiment from the panel is clear: while AI offers incredible capabilities, the customer's core desire is simply to have their problems resolved effectively, regardless of the "how." Customers appreciate AI, but they are more focused on the outcome than the underlying technology. The future of financial services lies in blending the efficiency of AI with the empathy of human interaction. By evaluating the true purpose of AI tools, organisations can build experiences that are both technologically advanced and deeply human.
Ask how NCS is enabling AI within financial services
Regardless of the stage or level of maturity within your organisation, Sumit and our industry team can help you navigate the complexities of AI and add value at the same time. Discover how we’re delivering generative AI and agentic systems to transform the financial services sector. Click here to contact us.
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