IBM Watson needs no introduction.

The company has a huge number of bank and FI partners, all working to make financial services “smarter.”

“We are focusing on moving banks into this cognitive banking scenario, so that they can understand customers better, and communicate with them in a more conversational way,” said Matt Kinney, customer insight and cognitive engagement offering manager at IBM Watson Financial Services solutions.

One of the areas of focus for both banks and Watson today is applying AI to the regtech space, especially post IBM’s acquisition of Promontory Financial Group — a global risk management and regulatory compliance consulting firm. “They are training Watson now to help them [risk and compliance managers] understand what their obligations are for different rules and regulations,” Kinney said.

Watch our full interview with Kinney, where he also discusses IBM Pay, blockchain, chatbots, and other Watson initiatives.

Also by Grace Noto