AI’s Transformative Impact on Financial Services | Snowdrop Solutions, Google and Piraeus Bank | Money20/20 Europe

At Money20/20 Europe in Amsterdam, we speak to significant industry players, Snowdrop Solutions CEO and founder Ken Hart; the head of Google Maps Platform for Financial Services in Europe, Nicola Dalmazzo; and Piraeus Bank in Greece’s GM for Retail Products, Yannis Grammatikos. They share their thoughts on the ever-changing role of AI in financial services.

Starting the conversation, Ken Hart said, “Snowdrop Solutions has had a very long relationship with Google Maps. We’ve worked with Google Maps for years,” he added. Expanding on that, Hart explained that Snowdrop has integrated with Google’s Generative AI model, Gemini, to process and clarify over one billion transactions every month. It personalizes the bank statement for customers by clearly identifying merchants and locations of transactions using the rich data of Google Places.

“We’re using AI in a responsible way,” Hart said, “grounding it with the underlying rich data of Google Places.”

Nicola Dalmazzo underlined that AI transformation could work wonders for banks. He stated that AI is not a trend but rather a technology that will change the way banks interact with their clients and internally operate.

“AI will change how banks talk with consumers and increase efficiency,” he said. He lauded the Snowdrop collaboration, stating that Google’s data-rich AI models, as matched by the proficiency of Snowdrop, now afford the banks exact transaction data.

Therefore, this kind of collaboration allows not only more intuitive banking experiences but also more efficient customer service since the need for traditional call centers is reduced.

Yannis Grammatikos from Piraeus Bank continued sharing his opinion on the retail banking industry. He said that AI with integrated geolocation services is part of what he said is a strategic choice for more richness in customer insight and experience.

“AI will play a bigger role tomorrow in providing a 3D image of a customer’s journey,” Grammatikos said. This approach will help banks better understand customer needs and preferences, thus enabling real-time offerings and value-added suggestions.

The panelists concurred on the enormous advantages the technology will have on the banking sector in terms of making transactions more transparent and satisfying for customers. Hart put this into perspective by saying,

“A couple of years ago, finding 250,000 merchants would take over a year. Now, with AI, it takes a few hours.” This enables them to give their customers a full-fledged history of transactions, even being so precise with the name and logo of the merchant at the location, which makes their financial management intuitive and straightforward.

Dalmazzo added a broader perspective on AI—for example, intelligent chatbots could offer personalized recommendations after studying one’s spending patterns.

“Consider traveling for work and having a smart agent suggest restaurants or hotels,” he continued with the example to showcase future advances in AI-enhanced financial services.

The discussion concluded by reflecting on the continuous change in the banking industry. Hart remembered Snowdrop’s first work with neo-banks and challenger banks in the UK, which have been differentiating themselves from traditional banks through transparency and simple user experiences.

“We started working in this area many years ago, and now it’s being adopted throughout Europe and beyond,” he said.

Adding AI and geolocation services for banking to upcoming technology, as shown by the Money20/20 Europe event, is a move toward more personalized, efficient, and transparent financial service. In no way does the view shared by Hart, Dalmazzo, and Grammatikos understate the game-changing power lying embedded in AI about the potential new landscape where banking will not only be a far more intuitive place but also far more responsive to its customer needs.