When It Comes to Money, People Trust Robots More Than Themselves

Research shows growing confidence among consumers and business leaders in robots to handle finance tasks rather than people. According to a new study by Oracle and personal finance expert Farnoosh Torabi the events of 2020 led people to trust robots more than themselves to manage their finances.

The study included 9,000 consumers and business leaders in 14 countries. It concluded that the pandemic increased financial anxiety, sadness, and fear among people globally, and changed who and what we trust to manage our finances.

The study indicates that 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. 90 percent of business leaders worry about the impact of COVID-19 on their organization, most commonly centering on a slow economic recovery or recession (51 percent); budget cuts (38 percent); and bankruptcy (27 percent). 87 percent of consumers have financial fears including job loss (39 percent); losing savings (38 percent); and never getting out of debt (26 percent). 41 percent of consumers reported losing sleep due to their personal finances.

To help navigate financial complexity, consumers and business leaders increasingly trust technology over people, saying:

• 67 percent trust a robot more than a human to manage finances.
• 73 percent of business leaders trust a robot more than themselves to manage finances; 77 percent trust robots over their own finance teams.
• 89 percent of business leaders believe robots can improve their work by detecting fraud (34 percent); creating invoices (25 percent); and conducting cost/benefit analysis (23 percent).
• 53 percent of consumers trust a robot more to manage finances; 63 percent trust robots over personal financial advisors.
• 66 percent of consumers believe robots can help detect fraud (33 percent); reduce spending (22 percent); and make stock market investments (15 percent).

To adapt to the growing influence and role of technology, corporate finance professionals and personal finance advisors alike must embrace change and develop new skills. The majority of business leaders and consumers believe that robots will replace corporate and personal finance professionals, with 76 percent of consumers wanting robots to help manage their finances.

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