TASHKENT, Uzbekistan, August 25. Financial
institutions need to strengthen their digital infrastructure and
security systems before actively deploying artificial intelligence
technologies, Umid Khakimov, Chief Executive Officer of Ipak Yuli
Bank, said, Trend’s
special correspondent reports from Tashkent.
He made the remarks while speaking at the Silk Road Finance &
Technology Forum.
According to Khakimov, AI can help financial institutions
optimize costs, including by automating certain processes. “We have
over 20 million POS terminals. This is very costly, and applying AI
can really save us part of costs,” he said.
At the same time, he stressed that efficiency should not come at
the expense of security. “We cannot apply AI without understanding
the risks. That’s one side. Another side is that we have to build
the infrastructure prior to applying AI,” Khakimov said.
According to him, financial institutions need to assess in
advance the potential risks associated with the use of AI,
including possible threats to information systems and data. “We
have to use that as knowledge, as a tool, as experience in order to
make prior and very efficient steps, to protect our data,” he
said.
Khakimov noted that Ipak Yuli Bank is currently focusing
primarily on infrastructure development, followed by improving
efficiency and optimizing costs.
He also noted that the growing number of users accessing
financial services for the first time is increasing the importance
of financial literacy and data protection. According to him, banks
face additional cybersecurity responsibilities as many SMEs do not
have dedicated IT or cybersecurity teams.
