When it comes to paying for a consumer product or service, there are three types of users, or at least I have become convinced that they can be divided into three categories:

• The traditionalists

• The yes with a limit

• The innovators

Traditionalists are people who like to use cash for their everyday spending. They tend to avoid using credit and debit cards, and prefer to handle physical money. The reasons for this can vary - they might find it simpler, value their privacy, or like having direct control over their money. For these people, using cash is a safe and trustworthy way to pay.

The yes with a limit, on the other hand, use a mix of cash, debit, and credit cards. This group is open to using new payment technologies but remains attached to cash for a variety of reasons. For instance, they might use cash for small daily expenses but rely on cards for larger purchases or online payments. Despite being fairly advanced on the technology adoption curve, they still show some distrust towards digital wallets, perhaps because of concerns related to security or privacy.

Finally, innovators are those who have fully embraced the digital payment era. This group has adopted the use of digital wallets and regularly uses them for a wide range of transactions. Whether it's shopping online, paying in a physical store, or transferring money to family and friends, innovators are comfortable using “technology” to manage their finances. This group sees the value and convenience offered by digital wallets and does not hesitate to take advantage of these benefits.

There isn't just one reason a user belongs to one of the three categories. Age is an important factor together with utility. A traditionalist uses cash simply because it is more convenient for them to do so, and the same goes for the new generations who primarily use tools like Apple Pay or Google Pay using their smartphone or smartwatch.

This is happening in Europe, but it may vary on other continents.

Being part of the second and third category in this scheme has many advantages: it simplifies payments, eliminates the need to carry cash, making it safer, and improves money traceability through financial institutions or blockchains.

In this context, financial intermediaries focus on detecting and preventing fraudulent transactions by blocking them. Automation is essential in this situation as it can analyze and decide on an infinite number of transactions that would be impossible for a human to evaluate.

Artificial intelligence is strengthening automation

With the help of automation, the banking and insurance sector has enhanced fraud prevention, operational management, and data analysis capabilities. Payment is one of the key topics when talking about automation and fraud detection.

More in general, organizations employ fraud prevention mechanisms to ensure that no one tries to exploit their service.

Now, artificial intelligence is playing a fundamental role in accelerating and improving the entire process, making fraud prevention way better. Artificial intelligence can learn and adapt, thus allowing for the automation of processes with greater precision and fewer errors. This has led to a significant improvement in the quality of automation, making it more powerful and reliable.

In addition, artificial intelligence can continuously improve its performance through machine learning. This means that AI-based automation solutions can adapt and improve over time, better meeting the needs of organizations. This learning and adaptation capability makes artificial intelligence a fundamental component of process automation, as it allows for the automation of increasingly complex processes and the continuous improvement of performance.

Automation is now an integral part of the main organizational processes of top companies. Businesses are increasingly relying on automatic processes, and customers are benefiting more and more from them. This adds value by reducing costs and improving efficiency for businesses, while also offering faster and more direct services to consumers. Just think of a bot that helps you answer a question, thus avoiding escalation to customer service. Easier for you, easier for the company = value.

Breaking down

Is it always really like this? Or rather, is it possible to apply automation and artificial intelligence without asking too many questions about the potential effects?

I came to share this reflection with you after a series of personal adventures that really made me think about how automation is influencing our lives. In particular, I analyzed the role played by automatic controls and how these can sometimes create rather annoying glitches.

I firmly believe that if you are one of those people who prefers to maintain a "traditional" approach in how you manage your digital activities, you probably have never encountered these issues. But if, like me, you prefer to experiment and embrace the novelties of the digital world, well, then it is likely that eventually you will come across one of these so-called ”false-positive” and spoiler… they will make you lose a lot of time.

Mistakes are part of progress. This is certain and the purpose of this update is not to just tell you what happened to me, but to drive a guideline for organizations to understand the effects of automation. Until AI reached its mainstream phase, automation had limited power, but now, where using AI has become easier to adopt and implement (and is something that must be done), the potential for negative aspects also needs to be controlled and considered. Just as no one would drive a car without a license (at least, one would hope), no company should integrate AI into its processes without knowing what it is doing or what the effects, both negative and positive, could be for its business.

There is no worst thing an organization could do that ruining a trusted relationship with a customer because of a process not controlled by humans.

Below, I will explain what happened to me, then I’ll share with you some reflections.

The blocked credit card

Ok, this one is simple.

An intense Saturday afternoon filled with online payments, perhaps too many. During the process of completing a transaction on an online store, I encountered a generic error, and then experienced a second one on my next attempt. On my third attempt, I encountered a block notification. Because of the bank's suspicion of fraud, my credit card was blocked. Evidently, the site I was buying from was on some kind of blacklist, or what the automatic control did not like was the sequence of payments.

The next morning I called the bank's customer service, I identified myself and spoke with a human operator (I emphasize this because it is becoming increasingly rare) and explained the situation. The operator confirmed the block and informed me that my credit card had been automatically blocked because of a fraud alert. I did those transactions. They were legitimate (their history matched mine). The card has been unblocked. Apparently, for a bot, I acted like a bot. Cool!

The phone conversation went on for approximately 10 minutes. In the end, everything was as before and working. Honestly, I felt protected. In many years, I never had a problem or a block. This time there must have been something that made the bank suspicious but, verified that it was really me, everything was resolved.

The forgotten PIN

Then, I faced another situation. I needed to authorize a financial operation through a banking app. As usual, I have been asked to enter a PIN to confirm the operation. I had to perform the authorization on my smartphone and the banking app sent a push notification to my mobile device. However, unfortunately, I've forgotten the code.

I tried a couple of attempts entering what I believed to be the correct PIN, but without success. Eventually, I took the next logical step: I reset the PIN. After completing the reset process, I tried again to authorize the operation. This time, however, I was told that I've exceeded the limit of push authentication attempts.

Now I was asked to enter some online codes to verify my identity. Unfortunately, I made a mistake in typing the codes, reversing them. My account got blocked.

The solution seemed obvious: unblock the account. However, the process was complex, no clear and not supported online, thus difficult.

Summing Up

These are just a few examples of how our lives can become very complicated because of automation. Indeed, automation can simplify many things and make processes more efficient. But when things go wrong, they can turn into an actual nightmare. Personally, I don’t like a company to block my operations without immediately knowing what I need to do to show I’m not wrong. I suppose you too.

Automation, when functioning correctly (and AI powered), can be impressive tools. It can help reduce human errors, speed up processes, and improve efficiency. But as you've seen, they it can also create problems when things don't go as planned. The actual issue is not if these errors will occur, but how organizations respond when they do.

Consider the case of the credit card blocked after a series of online transactions. The bank acted quickly to prevent potential fraud, demonstrating the effectiveness of automated security systems. However, what really made a difference was its ability to solve the problem efficiently and humanely, restoring customer trust.

On the other hand, the experience with the forgotten PIN problem represents the limits of automation when there is no effective human support system, or at least a well-defined process. These cases highlight the importance of balancing advanced technology and human interaction, ensuring that automation does not result in a loss of personalization and customer service.

View automation as more than just a tool for efficiency, but also as an instrument to enhance customer connections. By blending advanced technologies with a human touch, organizations not only save customers from frustrations and time losses, but also can build a firm base for long-term customer loyalty and satisfaction. It’s free money over a technological investment. What’s the reason to miss that?

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