The future of finance: What awaits Ukrainians in 2025 was discussed at the UAFIN.TECH conference

Countering fraud and cybersecurity, automating banking operations, providing a more flexible approach to customers, and making financial services more inclusive are just some of the processes in which AI has already proven to be a powerful and reliable tool. A number of Ukrainian banks are already using it in their operations, although some functions are still in the testing phase. The conference discussed in detail the experience of domestic companies, their plans and concerns regarding AI, and the vector of technology's impact on the economy and society in general.

“We have a good tradition that even enemy missiles cannot break. Every year in December, the best experts from the banking and non-banking sectors and I talk about the future of finance. And for the last three years, when the whole world was talking about the metaverse, artificial intelligence, and technology, we discussed fintech in the context of war. But this year, we decided not to wait for victory and finally address the role of AI within the state. We skipped the topic of artificial intelligence because of its prospects in the financial sector and topics related to it,”
- said Rostyslav Dyuk, Chairman of the Board of the Ukrainian Association of Fintech and Innovation Companies (UAFIC).

AI regulation in finance needs to be balanced

Artificial intelligence requires particularly careful regulation when applied in areas with large amounts of personal and confidential data. Therefore, the UAFIN.TECH conference discussed the experience of AI restrictions already implemented by the EU, the US, and the UK. In this regard, Ukraine is still a fairly democratic field for the use of AI, but regulation will soon become stricter.

“Today, Ukraine actually has softened conditions for the development of the digital market, it is not overly regulated. But when we talk about Europe, the European Commission will require Ukraine to implement the standards that are currently in place in the EU. Today, Ukraine actually has no choice whether to accept EU regulation or not, as the Facility Plan adopted by Ukraine also applies to virtual assets. Over the next two years, Ukraine will have to implement a number of EU regulations and standards, in particular in the financial sector,” said Inna Meteleva, project manager at TheCityUK.

Opportunities and risks of AI application in FinTech

Along with the undoubtedly high potential of AI, the conference also discussed the risks of its integration into certain processes and how to mitigate them. In addition to cybersecurity threats that require the development of additional technological tools for data protection, there is also the fact that AI in some industries cannot do without human control.
“Any AI model hallucinates, meaning it can create data out of thin air. That is why we always try to add the “Source” button in our products. This is about critical thinking. That is, when we add AI to a product, a person has to check whether he or she has done it correctly,” said Artellence partner Olena Stepura.

Artificial intelligence is essentially just another stage in the digital transformation of humanity. This tool, like every new technology, requires careful use and regulation, as well as careful analysis of how and in what process it can be useful.

“There are hundreds of thousands of technological solutions in the world. And if we implement microservices in our company, we do not create our own AI model but connect entire development teams that deal with this or that technology. How do you choose yours? There should be a person who analyzes what will be more convenient for you from a technological point of view. And the initiative to integrate should come from the manager. He or she must be a dreamer, a visionary about what his or her company should be like,” emphasized Marina Avdeeva, co-owner of Arsenal Insurance.

The event was organized by the Ukrainian Association of Fintech and Innovation Companies (UAFIC), with the support of the International Finance Corporation (IFC) and in partnership with the Swiss State Secretariat for Economic Affairs (SECO), the UK Government's Good Governance Fund in Ukraine (GGF), and the European Fund for Southeast Europe (EFSE). Innovative technology partner - Hitachi Vantara. LanTec is the technology partner.

General media partner of the event - We are Ukraine+ TV channel. Media partners: Fintech insider, We are Ukraine, mind.ua, delo.ua, dev.ua. Information partners: Independent Association of Banks of Ukraine (NABU), Association of Ukrainian Banks (AUB), and MTIBU. Security partner of the event - SHERIFF. The brand partner of the event is Indposhiv.