Alibaba’s Joe Tsai says data, artificial intelligence key skills for fintech firms, other companies
- Artificial intelligence is helping fintech companies better understand their risks, Tsai says
- HSBC spending US$5.5 billion a year on technology to better understand its clients, take advantage of market opportunities
Speaking on a panel at the 2021 Hong Kong FinTech Week conference, Tsai said the direct-to-consumer trend has led to an “explosion” of data collection by companies across sectors as they try to provide more tailored customer experiences and shorten their manufacturing cycles. Alibaba owns the Post.
“The trend really drives the whole movement towards digitisation of the business world. When you talk to senior management of various companies, they say they use data to drive decision-making,” said Tsai, who took part virtually. “Getting closer to the customer is no longer a need. It is a necessity.”
Artificial intelligence (AI) also is helping companies better understand and address their risks – another necessity for companies who want to offer financial services, Tsai said.
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For example, AI can help identify potentially fraudulent activity in the payment space, as well as help identify risky behaviour that is not worth underwriting when it comes to lending to consumers of small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs), he said.
“Every tech company that purports to be ‘techfin’ or get into financial services, your risk management is different from chat or short-form video,” Tsai said. “It is very, very hard to do.”