Financial Services Survey (BDO)

Summary

• 72% of respondents are optimistic about the Australian economy over the next 12 months, up from 67% in the previous survey.p.6
• Customer acquisition was identified by 57 per cent of respondents as a top growth driver, followed by customer retention, operational efficiency, and product innovation at 40% each.p.6
• Inflation was identified by 50 per cent of respondents as the economic factor expected to have the greatest impact over the next 12 months.p.8
• Under an optimistic economic scenario, 58 per cent of respondents would increase product development investment, while 30% would reduce M&A activity in a pessimistic scenario.p.9
• Customer experience (51%), competitive risk (50%), and risk and compliance (50%) are the top priorities for AI adoption.p.12
• AI-enabled scams and deepfakes were identified by 54% of respondents as their most significant challenge in managing financial crime risks.p.22

Key insights

1. 61% of responding leaders reported that macroeconomic uncertainty has caused moderate or significant changes to strategic planning.p.7
2. Operational efficiency (58%) and increased customer engagement (55%) are the most common outcomes achieved from AI implementation.p.13
3. 58 per cent of respondents believe their AI governance and risk frameworks are keeping up fairly well with technology adoption.p.14
4. 89% of respondents feel prepared to meet new scam prevention and AML requirements while protecting customer experience.p.19
5. 49% of respondents view the high cost of RegTech and automation investment as the primary barrier to regulatory integration.p.21
6. 47% of financial institutions struggle to demonstrate compliance effectiveness to regulators and boards.p.20
7. 50% of respondents report resource and skills strain on AML and fraud teams.p.26
8. The Australian fintech industry contributes $13.6 billion annually to the economy and supports almost 100,000 jobs.p.30