Redefine innovation through the lens of execution. Move past inventions to deliver scalable, self-service financial access and frictionless CX.
Sean, as the Head of Global Innovation at NCR Atleos, how has your personal journey shaped your approach to driving innovation within the financial technology space?
I have more than 25 years of experience as an innovation leader, successfully developing products from concept to launch for startups and global organizations such as JPMorgan Chase, Sage and Equifax. My career has spanned a wide range of industries, giving me a unique perspective and the ability to view problems and ideas from diverse vantage points.
At NCR Atleos, I am helping to drive and transform innovation across the entire business, both internally and externally. We are raising the bar and elevating our innovation capabilities with a dedicated focus on self-service financial access.
Innovation means different things to different organizations. How does NCR Atleos define and prioritize innovation in its strategy?
Even though most people believe they understand what innovation is, the word has become so broadly used that it now carries ambiguity. While the term may be useful for marketing purposes, it can introduce challenges when creating an innovation-centered organization.
At NCR Atleos, we strive to break through this uncertainty with a precise and focused definition of innovation and how it relates to our mission. For example, we believe that ideas, inventions and innovation – while related – are all different. An idea is a novel concept; an invention is the creation of an idea; and innovation is the execution of an invention. While ideas and inventions drive innovation, they are not innovation itself. An idea can’t become innovation without the very important element of execution.
Our mission is not to generate ideas or inventions for their own sake but to execute upon them and truly innovate, being first to market with meaningful advancements that help our customers. We have a robust infrastructure specifically designed to propel self-service innovation both internally and externally.
What are some of the biggest myths about innovation that you encounter in the banking technology sector?
One common myth is that innovation is only for certain groups of people, such as engineers. That is simply not the case; everyone can innovate. That’s why at NCR Atleos, we strive to make innovation more approachable and accessible for all of our employees. For example, we are currently expanding our internal programs to allow any employee, regardless of role or technical background, to share innovative ideas and follow them through to completion. This blend of crowd sourcing and intrapreneurship along with our hackathons and other programs encourage and empower every employee to participate in innovation.
Another myth is that innovation must tackle a huge problem – when in reality, innovation can be as simple as finding a new, better way to complete a process, creating value in the near-term. You don’t have to focus on the big hits to innovate – the small stuff matters too.
In the pursuit of innovation, where do you see the greatest opportunities for improving customer experience through technology?
A great customer experience is all about creating seamless interactions. Through technology and innovation, we are making progress toward a future where anyone – regardless of language, disability or personal preference – can engage with our solutions easily and without friction. Advancements such as facial biometrics, natural language processing, seamless mobile integrations and personalized interfaces will make this vision a reality.
Can you highlight an example of an innovation project at NCR Atleos that has delivered unexpected value or insights?
We recently collaborated with a customer, Kuwait Finance House, to deploy a hyper-realistic conversational AI-powered avatar, transforming the in-branch customer experience. AI-driven video avatars are being introduced at account service kiosks across KFH’s branches, providing real-time, tailored assistance to customers. The avatars can answer common questions about the bank’s services, provide branch-specific information, and, in the next phase of the collaboration, guide customers through transactions directly from the kiosk. The avatar can also seamlessly escalate the interaction to a live agent when needed, offering uninterrupted support.
This is another example of how we are continuing to bridge the gap between traditional branch services and digital engagement. Our Innovation Lab is continuing to advance this technology, which underscores our commitment to ongoing advancement in the customer experience via frictionless interactions.
What role does emerging technology – like AI or biometrics – play in shaping the future of self-service banking at NCR Atleos?
Emerging technologies will transform and enhance self-service banking in the years to come. For example, the rise of AI-powered autonomous branches will enable banks and credit unions to run smaller-footprint, lower cost and efficient branches like self-service kiosks with a central AI operating layer powering all devices. These branches will be able to facilitate the same actions and transactions completed in-branch today by leveraging a multi-model interface approach including speech, touch, vision and gestures.
Also in the not-so-distant future, highly secure biometrics and cryptography will replace the shared credentials commonly leveraged today. While biometrics aren’t new in financial services, this will be a new chapter leveraging the innovations that will enable reusable identification across banks and credit unions, prompting facial biometrics to emerge as the predominant authentication method.
Augmented, virtual and mixed reality will also be leveraged to transform self-service banking, enhancing operational efficiencies for financial institutions and their partners. Pairing the imaging and display capabilities of these devices with AI can provide technicians with highly accurate information and guidance for a wide range of field services. Such innovations will also allow training to be facilitated without requiring in-person access to devices, saving time and costs.
Looking forward, what key trends or shifts in self-service banking innovation excite you the most for the next five years?
Looking forward in self-service banking innovation, we are particularly excited about the following areas:
- Transformed customer experiences. As discussed, emerging technologies such as AI and advanced biometrics have the potential to create more accessible, intuitive and seamless interactions.
- Improved operational efficiency. Advancements in areas such as virtual reality training and AI-driven cash forecasting will deliver measurable time and cost savings, allowing institutions to operate more efficiently.
- Modern, sustainable designs. We are reimaging ATM and ITM design, shifting in favor of organic shapes and artistic forms. Leveraging innovations in agentic AI and 3D printing enables the development of units that are both visually compelling and sustainable and cost-effective.
- Expanded service solutions. We are investing in multichannel solutions that integrate seamlessly across platforms such as ATMs and digital banking. These innovations include areas such as interactive marketing, check cashing and AI-enabled physical security.
A quote or advice from the author
“Innovation isn’t just about technology—it’s about anticipating customer needs and creating solutions that deliver real value. At NCR Atleos, we are focused on self-service banking innovation in the areas of transformed customer experiences, improved operational efficiency, modern and sustainable designs, and expanded service solutions.”
— Sean Mallean, Head of Global Innovation, NCR Atleos
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