This project explores how AI can transform banking from a transactional system into a long-term, human-centered relationship. In collaboration with ABN AMRO and IBM, we designed a future vision for “Trusted and Empathetic AI” in the context of loan services. The core ambition was to move beyond efficiency-driven automation and instead create meaningful financial support that evolves with people over time.
We identified a key tension shaping the future of banking: the balance between individual freedom (privacy, open banking) and relational value (personalisation, loyalty). Rather than resolving this tension, we used it as a design driver. The concept of Empathetic AI emerged as a way to mediate between these forces—combining explainability, fairness, and privacy with emotionally aware, context-sensitive interactions.
The outcome is PEBA, an AI-powered financial assistant that supports users across their entire financial journey—from moments of confusion to long-term wellbeing—while maintaining trust, transparency, and human dignity.
The project translates a future vision into a three-horizon roadmap. In the short term, we enhance internal banking processes with explainable AI and decision-support tools. In the mid-term, AI becomes customer-facing through personalised, conversational loan counselling.
In the long term, this evolves into an integrated ecosystem where PEBA acts as an omnipresent financial companion; connecting services and supporting users throughout their lives.This approach moves from efficiency-driven automation to experience-driven, relationship-based banking.
The design reimagines the loan journey from a complex and confusing process into a clear, supportive experience. PEBA helps users compare options, understand decisions, and receive personalised advice based on their context and needs.
Over time, it becomes a trusted long-term assistant rather than a one-time tool. By combining transparency with emotional intelligence, the system builds lasting relationships instead of one-off transactions.
The impact is a new kind of banking experience; centered on trust, clarity, and financial wellbeing.
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