The dark side of robotics: Mass bank account blocking in Russia

Maria Nikolova

The steep rise in complaints is related to the increased use of automated systems in compliance.

Earlier this year, FinanceFeeds reported about the plans by Russia’s Sberbank, or Sberbank Rossii PAO (MCX:SBER), to replace as many as 3,000 employees with a robot. The announcement came in tune with a stance voiced by Sberbank’s CEO Herman Gref in September 2016, when he forecast that in five years Artificial Intelligence systems will be responsible for 80% of the decisions at the bank.

Such a drastic push into the implementation of robotics in various banking processes seems to have its darker side, as clients of Russian banks have been increasingly complaining of their accounts being blocked due to automated systems checks.

Over the past several days, the forum of banki.ru has been flooded with complaints from people whose accounts were blocked following checks for AML compliance conducted by automated systems. Speaking to “Kommersant”, a representative of Rosfinmonitoring has confirmed that there is a rise in such complaints and that the large majority of them – some 80%, is related to Sberbank.

One possible explanation for Sberbank’s top spot in this not quite glorious ranking is that the bank is a leader in the Russian retail banking market. Another explanation is the bank’s major role in utilization of automated systems in various processes.

Of course, the field of AI should not be considered so narrowly – that is, it should not be limited to the area of simple rule-based systems, which are incapable of learning unlike newer hybrid technologies and neural networks. Hence, we cannot rule out the usefulness of AI in the financial area because traditional automated systems create troubles.

Russian banks, however, are not inclined to abandon the use of automated programs for compliance checks. The reason – the expenses for staff and consultancy fees will surge disproportionately.

Thus, the problem of robots replacing human beings in different job roles resurfaces in full scale. The European Parliament is taking the problem seriously. In February this year, MEPs voted a resolution that urges the European Commission to draft rules for the field of robotics to be applied across the European Union. The set of rules should protect human jobs from being taken over by robots, according to the proposals.

Read this next

Market News

Stock Market Analysis: Is NVDA Losing Its Leadership?

Since the beginning of the week, the S&P 500 Index (US500) has seen a modest increase of about 0.58%, whereas NVDA’s share price has experienced a decline of approximately 3.8%. This recent divergence raises concerns among Nvidia stock investors — could it signify a loss of NVDA’s market leadership?

Industry News

ESG: Australian regulator wins first greenwashing court case against Vanguard

Vanguard admitted that a notable portion of the securities within both the Index and the Fund did not undergo the promised ESG scrutiny.

Fintech, Uncategorized

BitMEX integrates HALO from Solidus Labs for cross-market surveillance

““The recent approval of the Spot Bitcoin ETF has piqued the market’s interest. As a result of price volatility, the trading volumes for crypto derivatives have gone up substantially. HALO, with its advanced technology and crypto-native detection architecture, will enable BitMEX to smoothly and safely scale trade surveillance across its increased trading volumes and provide the necessary safeguards for new product launches.”

Reviews

IUX Broker Review

IUX, recently rebranded from IUX Markets, stands as a multi-asset Forex broker recognized for its regulatory compliance across various jurisdictions.

Industry News

Horizon Software rebrands to Horizon Trading Solutions

“Horizon Trading Solutions has seen accelerated global growth over the past year to meet the rising demand for our trading solutions and built-for-purpose technology offering. The choice to rebrand represents a key part of this development, while maintaining our heritage and history in the industry.”

Market News

USDJPY has surged to levels last witnessed in 2022. Should we consider opening a short position?

The recent resurgence of the US dollar has propelled USD/JPY to new heights, touching levels not seen since 2022. This surge comes against the backdrop of stable short-term yields and ongoing economic data that fails to signal a significant slowdown, prompting questions about the extent of current monetary easing measures.

Digital Assets

DED Trends on Twitter After Memecoin Snapshot Announcement

Polkadot-backed community coin #DED, made it to the trending charts on X, demonstrating community’s engagement and interest behind the memecoin. 

Digital Assets

BlockDAG Presale Nears $10 Million Amid Toncoin’s Momentum, Green Bitcoin’s Presale, and the Rise of Other Top Cryptos

This article will examine three top trending topics: Toncoin’s potential, Green Bitcoin’s innovative presale, and BlockDAG’s sustainable mining approach. These cryptocurrencies take centre stage for their uniqueness and innovation.

Digital Assets

Coinbase scores minor victory vs SEC, but lawsuit to proceed

A federal judge in Manhattan, U.S. District Judge Katherine Polk Failla, ruled on Wednesday that the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission’s (SEC) lawsuit against Coinbase can largely proceed.

<