Helping Australia’s youth navigate the financial landscape using AI

Helping Australia’s youth navigate the financial landscape using AI

AI technology is influencing all major industries today. As part of the first cohort in RMIT’s Master of AI program, scholarship recipient Vy Nguyen discusses how AI helps his co-founded Fintech start-up in Australia.

While Vy Nguyen, a current Master of AI student and scholarship recipient, was working at Microsoft as a Partner Technology Strategist, he needed to consult clients on their future technology roadmap. “I worked with top corporates, banks, and tech companies in the SEA region – everyone had AI as a major pillar to their future strategy,” Vy confides.  

Subsequently, after leaving Microsoft to create his own company alongside his high school friend Caroline Tran, Vy began to postulate how AI tools could also strongly influence his business. 

Vy’s latest venture is called Hello Clever, and it is a Universal Payment, Money Management, Spend and Save ecosystem focused on Australia and APAC markets. “In Australia, there is an initiative called ‘Open Banking.’ If you have a bank account with ANZ and one with NAB, these two institutions cannot talk to each other - each bank has a different snapshot of your finances. Open Banking allows for banks to share data, and although it may sound insidious, it is not.  The initiative only allows sharing with parties accredited by the ACCC and it is a scheme that must have the explicit buy-in by the individual. The benefit is that people can get better-suited banking products and switch products or banks more easily.” 

Portrait of a man and a woman wearing olive green clothes Vy Nguyen, current Master of Artificial Intelligence student at RMIT Vietnam (left), with co-founder

Vy notes that it is not just bank-to-bank communication that is lacking.  There are also oftentimes siloed information pillars within an organisation, leading to miscommunication. “The banking industry is a closed world, and within this world, there are further closed doors. Information within a bank is often segmented, but if we can use data to unlock new insights, then that can be quite revolutionary,” Vy says.

This is where Hello Clever comes into play, using a multifaceted approach with products for consumers, merchants, and payment processors. “From a consumer perspective, we can give practical financial advice, free of bias towards any singular financial institution. A consumer’s shopping experience can also be enhanced based on one’s financial behaviour,” Vy states.  Continuing, he comments on merchants and payment processors, saying that amongst many use cases, “Fraud prevention and gaining access to customer segmentation and credit score are major benefits for these stakeholders. AI, in terms of fraud, can assist in identifying it with powerful precision.”

Despite the progress of AI advancement, Vy cautions that we need to be mindful about the tools that we are using. “AI tech, like autopilot or chatbots that mimic human speech, they are of course impressive, but we must remember they are human achievements. As such, there are inherent concerns about reliability, bias, and the metrics we use to measure both. It is deeply important as AI professionals that we understand the scope of what an AI tool can do and keep in mind that we are the ones in control.”  

In today’s world, as AI continues to link previously unconnected data points, it will be important to heed Vy’s words as AI becomes a major driver for all technologies.  Learn how the Master of Artificial Intelligence could help you to become a skilled AI professional. 

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