Can IoT Ease Our Demonetisation Pain?

Internet of Things, fondly called IoT, is the word of mouth of every technology evangelist these days. IoT is typically a maze of “smart” devices which are independently connected to the internet as well as with each by means of this IoT network. These smart devices may include Alarm clocks, refrigerators, fitness trackers, home security solutions and even wearable tattoos for controlling mobile devices – anything and everything which can hook up to a network and communicate with other devices.

This communication is the life support equipment for IoT – as these smart devices barter data from others to provide contextual and insightful solutions for the users. While a Gartner Report forecasts that the number of devices aligned with IoT will increase to 26 billion, adding a global economic value of nearly $1.9 trillion, IDC stands on a more optimistic side by estimating that the “Universe of Things” will lead to sales of $9 trillion worth of intelligent devices.

http://sites.tcs.com/internet-of-things/industries/banking-and-financial-services/" align="aligncenter" width="660"> TCS demonstrates the ways in which Banking companies use IoT

The recent stroke of demonetization, which has impacted Indians greatly (although in some instance gravely) has spurred the inclination towards cashless modes of payment, an adoption which is likely to contribute to the growth of IoT in the financial sector. IoT-enabled transactions have higher efficiency and take place at warp speed. This translates to better collection and contextualization of user data, better transactions directly online or using mobile devices.

IT enterprises are lunging with full force. Samsung has initiated partnerships with the likes of Bank of America and U.S. Bank to enable integration of their new Iris scanner into banking apps on mobile. Google seems to be developing an Operating System for IoT ecosystems, while Microsoft is focusing on developments in the area of Cloud. IBM is engaged in almost everything and recently made news by developing Hyperledger, an open-source protocol for blockchain.

Machine-to-Machine interactions in IoT-empowered devices allow collection and transfer of large volumes of user-specific information using various sensors, which will also enable banks and financial institutions to track behaviour and expectations of consumers. Subsequently, this will leverage a personalized support experience to the customers, with insightful and contextual advice. Banks can also use this contextual information for creation of intuitive customer rewards and opportunities for cross-selling.

What this means for consumers is that they can use this learning from Banks to receive highest returns on their investments as well as enable instant, intuitive and automated decision of finances. Val Srinivas, Banking & Securities Research Leader, Deloitte Services LP used this blog post to illustrate an example. Take for instance that your investment account reads and processes data from multiple devices in your personal space, including (let’s say) a heart-rate monitor. In the event of any health calamity or risk, your account may rebalance to reduce your downside exposure or transfer funds into more liquid holdings to facilitate the requirement of cash. This is very much possible using today’s technology.

Besides painting a harmonious picture of the consumer data, the IoT devices will need to be backed by strong cybersecurity infrastructure. Resilience comes as a challenge as Enterprises are likely to be less confident in terms of security in the coming year and cyber threats will become more intelligent, and difficult to detect and isolate. Extra layers of security will be required to deal with vulnerability, irrespective of whether the user data is on the network or the cloud. But, despite security concerns, analytics companies like Capgemini are in favour of a positive impact of IoT on our financial engagements, especially benefiting investment, insurance, and healthcare sectors.