Fintech continues to make its mark on specialist finance, not least with the use of APIs, both open and closed, AVMs and online portals, in this field Fignum provides lenders with software solutions to aid the loan origination process.

With fintech comes AI, an element which Andrew sees as not just a key part of the underwriting process when it comes to decision making, but also customer facing roles and complex cases.

Andrew believes there is space for a more natural AI interaction style for the underwriting process whereby once a case is fully packaged and input into an LLM, specific questions will be answered with ease.

“Instead of calling a call centre, effectively it will feel like you're engaging with a with a real-life person, but it will be an AI agent much smarter than they are today, with an FAQ style”, said Andrew.

Andrew feels that the technology already exists to create these tools, and what is required is more people adopting it, alongside more regulator confidence, with this in mind his timeline for its implementation is conservative.

“Realistically, I think it is three to four years before it becomes more mainstream and I know that some people are quite bullish about it, people were quite happy to tell me, are we going to see an AI revolution within the next 12 months? I just can't see it happening.”

Despite a belief that AI may not gain its footing as near in the future as some expect, Andrew still feels the only way is forward for these automated tools in the specialist finance market.

In an industry which often prides itself on its face-to-face nature and relationship driven service, this could be tricky. However, while Andrew feels that answers can be delivered quickly over the phone, with this continuing in the near-term, he is confident AI will eventually deliver the simple, concise answers which, for the time being, may otherwise be best delivered by another human.

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“The long-term direction of travel is only one direction, right?”

Andrew continued, “I think you could continue that human interaction in the near-term, but I think you'll see that more and more transition into self-service and digital tooling, as you look five to 10 years out.”

However, efficiency is just one element for consideration when it comes to AI in fintech. According to a 2023 KPMG study on trust in AI, three in five (61%) were wary about trusting AI systems, while 67% of respondents reported low to moderate acceptance of AI.

This consumer wariness towards AI isn’t lost on Andrew, however he feels that as it makes processes more efficient, it will in turn make them more convenient, in turn creating user confidence, replacing initial scepticism — he notes the initial apprehension around Apple Pay and the fear of its potential vulnerability to scammers compared with its prevalence today.

However, while consumers may be comfortable scanning their phone to pay for a pint of milk, the specialist finance market comes with its own intricacies and complexities, potentially causing varying paces of adoption across different sectors of the industry.

“As the products are more and more complex or the individuals are more and more complex, it just becomes slower,”

“So as you get into complex commercial, that is going to be more complicated than retail bridging for example.”

Despite this, Andrew is confident that the tide of AI will reach the feet of the specialist finance market, such as commercial finance, regardless of complexity.

“They're going to be slower to see that that uptake of technology really come through and change it, but there's certainly a path forward there for it.

“It's just about building those use cases, demonstrating the capabilities, making sure that we can service those products, those customers, those clients in the best possible way.”