Q&A: Personetics’ Alison Lindland on building financial context with Open Finance and AI

In this Q&A with Alison Lindland, chief marketing officer at Personetics, reveals the most exciting AI and Open Banking developments coming down the line, and the shift as consumers “feel recognised” rather than “marketed to”.

1. Tell us more about Personetics – what is your offering and where do you fit into the Open Banking ecosystem?

Personetics is a cognitive banking platform. We help banks build one clear, shared understanding of each customer from their real spending, cash flow and behaviour, following them across the app, the contact centre, the banker’s desk, and AI-driven interactions. We call this ‘One Shared Financial Context’, built by Personetics Transaction Intelligence, which uses AI to analyse real financial behaviour to produce insights that are timely, relevant, and genuinely useful.

Open Banking helps make that picture even richer. On their own, banks only ever see part of a customer’s financial life – what’s happening elsewhere stays invisible exactly when it matters most. We can bring external accounts, liabilities and investments (including via partners such as Plaid) into that same shared context, sitting alongside a bank’s own data, without banks needing to build new AI models or juggle another vendor relationship.

To be clear, we’re not trying to be Open Banking plumbing. We sit above it, turning connected data into something that actually deepens the relationship, such as a timely recommendation, a good reason for the customer to bring more of their finances to that bank, and what we call relationship equity, rather than just a wider view of their finances.

2. What do you see as some of the most exciting developments in AI and Open Banking coming down the line?

The big shift is that Open Banking data is finally becoming useful, not just visible. Banks could always pull in a customer’s external accounts – the challenge was that there was no mechanism for analysing and using the data to build the relationship.

That’s changing fast. Open Finance connectivity is now pairing with AI built specifically to turn transactions into understanding. For us, that means outside data can feed into ‘One Shared Financial Context’ alongside a bank’s own data, and Personetics Transaction Intelligence turns it into something specific: a debt consolidation opportunity, a fee worth avoiding, a savings habit worth encouraging.

We also expect “the relationship” itself to keep expanding. Right now, a bank’s understanding of a customer often resets every time they switch channels. The app doesn’t know what the banker discussed, and the banker doesn’t see what the app already suggested.

The next wave is genuinely continuous context: banker, app, marketing and AI assistants all drawing on the same up-to-date picture, building on the last interaction rather than starting from scratch.

And we’re watching no-code configuration take off. Banks that can launch new insights and journeys themselves, without a long queue for tech resources, will be the ones building relationship equity the fastest.

3. And how will these changes improve the way consumers engage with their finances?

For consumers, it’s the shift from feeling marketed to, to feeling recognised. When a bank holds one shared understanding of a customer’s financial life, rather than rebuilding a patchy picture every time they open the app, call in, or speak to a banker, every interaction can reflect what the bank already knows. Instead of generic offers, customers get guidance that builds on their last conversation and reflects how they actually manage money.

It gets even more useful once external accounts are connected. Insights are no longer limited to what happens inside the bank’s own walls. For example, a customer might get a nudge to consolidate debt, dodge a fee before it lands, or spot a savings opportunity based on their whole financial picture, all inside the app they already use every day.

The benefits compound, too. As a bank’s understanding of a customer deepens and follows them everywhere, there’s less reason for that customer to spread their finances across several banks and more reason to consolidate with the one that clearly gets you. This is the journey toward primacy, and it tends to generate better rates, more relevant guidance, and fewer surprises – all of which lead to better deals for the customer and a stronger deposit base for the bank.

4. Personetics is hosting a roundtable at Open Banking Expo UK & Europe 2026. What topic will the roundtable be exploring?

Our roundtable, “The Guardrails Question: Where Should AI Advise, and Where Should It Act?”, explores the critical boundary between AI automation and human oversight in banking.

As AI capabilities expand from generating insights to taking direct actions – such as adjusting savings plans, flagging risks, or initiating customer outreach – the core challenge becomes determining where human sign-off is essential. European banks face particular regulatory and customer expectations on this front.

The session directly addresses customer ambivalence: while consumers are increasingly comfortable with AI handling more tasks, they demand transparency into how decisions are made and the ability to reverse them.

Rather than debating whether to automate, the roundtable tackles the harder questions: How far should automation go? For which customer segments? And who bears accountability when things go wrong? It’s a peer-led conversation on designing responsible AI guardrails that balance efficiency with customer trust and regulatory compliance.

5. Personetics is a Gold Partner of Open Banking Expo UK & Europe 2026. Why is the Expo a key fixture in your event calendar?

Open Banking Expo puts us in front of senior digital and technology leaders from Europe’s biggest retail banks, as well as regional players and challenger fintechs, all of whom are figuring out how to build deeper, more continuous customer relationships rather than just bolting on another point solution. Few events bring that much seniority and relevance together in one place.

It’s also a natural fit because the Expo’s core themes, including data access, governance, and turning connected data into real engagement, map directly to what we do: helping banks carry one shared financial understanding across every channel to build relationship equity.

Beyond the sessions, the Expo gives us a proper way to build relationships over time: through our own hosted roundtable, the VIP access we extend to our client and prospect network, and the kind of candid, peer-led conversation you don’t get in a standard sales pitch. For decision-makers forming views on AI and Open Banking long before they ever take a vendor call, showing up as a credible voice in that room is exactly how you earn relationship equity, which is why we’re pleased to be a Gold Partner this year.

Personetics is a Gold Partner of Open Banking Expo UK & Europe 2026 on 13-14 October at the Business Design Centre in London. Click here to find out more and buy your ticket.

Want a seat at the roundtable? Email ross.green@openbankingexpo.com if you’d like to take part in the Personetics roundtable.