People Trust Robots More Than Themselves with Money

The year 2020 has changed our relationship with money and people now trust robots more than themselves to manage their finances, according to a new study by Oracle and personal finance expert Farnoosh Torabi.

The study of more than 9,000 consumers and business leaders in 14 countries found that the Covid-19 pandemic has increased financial anxiety, sadness, and fear among people around the world and has changed who and what we trust to manage our finances.

In addition, people are rethinking the role and focus of corporate finance teams and personal financial advisors, according to the research, reads a press release.

Among business leaders, financial anxiety and stress increased by 186 percent and sadness grew by 116 percent; consumer financial anxiety and stress doubled and sadness increased by 70 percent.

Some 87 percent of consumers are experiencing financial fears, including job loss, losing savings, and never getting out of debt.

The financial uncertainty created by Covid-19 has changed who and what we trust to manage our finances. To help navigate financial complexity, consumers and business leaders increasingly trust technology over people to help.

The study found that 67 percent of consumers and business leaders trust a robot more than a human to manage finances. And 73 percent of business leaders trust a robot more than themselves to manage finances, while 77 percent trust robots over their own finance teams.

Furthermore, 56 percent of business leaders believe robots will replace corporate finance professionals in the next five years, according to the study.

“Managing finances is tough at the best of times, and the financial uncertainty of the global pandemic has exacerbated financial challenges at home and at work,” said Farnoosh Torabi.

“Robots are well-positioned to assist — they are great with numbers and don’t have the same emotional connection with money. This doesn’t mean finance professionals are going away or being replaced entirely, but the research suggests they should focus on developing additional soft skills as their role evolves,” Torabi added.

“Financial processes in our personal and professional worlds have become increasingly digital for many years and the events of 2020 have accelerated that trend,” said Juergen Lindner, senior vice president of Global Marketing at Oracle.

“Digital is the new normal and technologies such as artificial intelligence and chatbots play a vital role in managing finance. Our research indicates that consumers trust these technologies to accelerate their financial well-being over personal financial advisors and business leaders see this trend reshaping the role of corporate finance professionals,” Lindner further said.

For more information go to: https://www.oracle.com/erp/ai-financials/money-and-machines/ 

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