NatWest banks on AWS and Accenture for AI-driven customer overhaul NatWest Group has announced a five-year contract with AWS and Accenture intended to improve its analytics performance for customer data. The UK-based global bank said it plans to transform customer service by modernizing its digital, data, analytics, and AI tech. TSB shopfront Ex-CIO must pay £81k over Total Shambles Bank …
I have the impression from the article that this won't be your choice, as they intend to let AI loose on is bulk customer data, in order to better sell more of their products, and maybe sack a few analysts and statisticians. Given the conspicuous failure of Ebay or Amazon to be able to EVER offer useful product recommendations I'm not hopeful.
I am a customer of Nat. West, but my banking needs are quite simple.
I want reliable and trustable payment and money transfer services, some confidence that the systems that are in use are secure and my money is safe, and a basic portal to allow me to set up certain things like bank transfers, regular payments and transaction reviews.
The only other thing I want is to be able to contact the bank and get some sense from them if there is a problem.
I'm sure that other customers may want more, but I'm pretty happy (as much as you can be with a bank!) with things as they are.
All this other stuff is mostly for their benefit, to reduce costs, enable them to sell more services, and maximise their profits. Very little of it will have a positive impact to me, and I would prefer a bank's systems to remain on-prem. and as far away from the cloud as possible!
Instead of stories about how organisations are *going to* ...
How about some of them report on what the outcomes are after they've implemented such measures? You know like a success story.
Oh? Because all they'll be doing here is exporting data to a spreadsheet, asking for AI analysis and then spaffing out a load of bullshit. Like everyone else who's jumped on the bandwagon.
NatWest "So AI, how's the implimentation going"
AI: "Overwelming success. All Accenture & AWS payments processed with 0ms delay and there will be no more invoices to pay"
NatWest "Oh, why's that?"
AI: "There's no money left. This cloud service will terminate in 5s...."
… not one but TWO high street banks have demonstrated that you can’t walk into a branch with valuable documents they have asked for and get them successfully transmitted to grand central. If they can’t even get document management and email working properly, all the rest is just spaffing account owners money up the wall.
And then they have the cheek to remove high street branches because enough people are apparently not using them, even when you’re in said branches there’s a constant stream of people coming in. Perhaps that was an AI-driven decision, because AI couldn’t have meat bags in the loop,
My wife has had all sorts of issues with HSBC.
She wanted to open a business account, and they said she had to go online to do it, except the computer said no for no apparent reason.
She then went into the local branch again, where they did - to their credit - set her up.
A little time later, when trying to send an international payment, the receiving bank wouldn't accept it because the receiving company name was longer than hat submitted.. Unbelievably, HSBCs shorter limit exists on the end-users form for submitting payments. Wife then walked into said branch, who confirmed this, then said they could submit on her behalf in the backend systems which had a bigger length support.
They then wanted to charge her 30 quid+ for doing this.
So yeah, they can't get the basics right.
The Register 
Biting the hand that feeds IT
Copyright. All rights reserved © 1998–2025
