STUDENT ASSESSMENT

FORM

Research Proposal 2021/22

Student’s Reg. No: Module Code:

Criteria Max Points

Research Question/Title

Background

Justification of the research

Relevant literature

Probable Methodology and Analysis

Limitations of the Research

Timetable

References
Abstract
It can very well be said that the internet of things is the next phase in the digital revolution that
the entire globe has been witnessing. The life of consumers is expected to transform on a scale
that can at best be labeled as unprecedented. While in conventional terms the internet does not
extend beyond computers and computer networks, connected electronic objects using the internet
have extended the scope of the internet itself to unprecedented levels. The title of the study is
proposed to be ‘Role of IoT in banking services – Barclays Case’. The purpose of the study is
going to highlight the role of the internet of things (IoT) in the modern banking system in general
and Barclays’ case in particular. It is proposed that study is intended to find out whether the
application of IoT would be beneficial in terms of improving performance in bankers and
addition of value to the banking experience of elderly customers in particular.
Introduction
The Internet of Things is expected to shape the future of the digital revolution. It will create an
age where each and every electronic device around us will be a potential communicating device.
This in turn will open up the possibility of further improvements because each device will add a
new set of information that can be worked upon. It is expected that there will be tens of billions
of connected devices all over the world within this decade. When all economic agents will
experience the revolution how can it be possible that banks would be left out? After all, banks
are very important institutions in any economy. It is well known that the failure of big banks can
translate into the failure of the entire economy. In the digital age, banks are already offering
digital banking services to their customers but all of this is expected to undergo further changes.
With IoT, it would be possible to imagine a system of connected banks. The procedural scheme
of operations of banks is expected to undergo a paradigmatic shift. The study will make
utilization of previous studies that have been done on digital banking services and the Internet of
Things.
Background
Internet of Things in the financial sector
Customers are getting increasingly demanding. This is a fact that is well known in the market for
quite some time. But what is more significant is the pace at which they want their demands to get
addressed. At a time when consumers are increasingly getting familiar with smart homes based
on IoT as well as smart healthcare, they develop certain expectations from their banking service
providers as well. They expect the serving banks to undertake digital innovation at a pace that
matches their pace of digitally connected lifestyles.
Mobile Banking
Consumers demand that their banking service providers offer services that are easy, seamless,
and instant. Thanks to the internet of things it is now possible to access banking services from
handheld devices. Using biometric data, it is possible for customers to access digital services
from any device that is having a digital interface. Physical signatures are increasingly getting
replaced with wet ink technology-based signatures wherein touchscreen-based signatures are
cloned on paper using wet ink technology. Most importantly, IoT has enabled banks to monitor
the status of assets financed by them. It is because of the digital identity of customers and objects
that have been captured by the banks that monitoring activities get eased. Digital identities of
people and objects have also made it possible for the banks to take digital requests for financing
projects. Moreover, it is now possible for banks to monitor the quality of collateral online. It is
widely acknowledged that instant payment is going to be the future of payment. Biometrics
technology offers a fairly high level of security to carry out instant payments on digital
interfaces. The popularity of wallets is growing each passing day. Making use of these wallets, it
is now possible to make payments directly onto any payment terminal. A relatively recent
introduction to mobile banking is smart contracts wherein making use of IoT-based services it is
possible to enable or disable a particular functionality depending upon payment or non-payment
of finances for these functionalities. It is important to mention that the operation of IoT-based
devices would generate large quantities of data. The organizations that would be able to
capitalize on this data will be the ones that would develop efficient algorithms and bring
maximum gains for themselves. Taking privacy and security issues involved in banking
transactions into consideration, it would be apt that Barclays has already gone one step ahead of
fingerprint and biometrics-based authentication and validation toward what is known as a venous
impression. It is more secure than fingerprint authentication and validation because it is almost
impossible to replicate and duplicate. Here, it would also be apt to discuss personal financial
management (PFM) and know your customer (KYC). Large amounts of data generated on IoT-
based devices would help banks offer personalized PFM services to their customers. The banking
sector has adopted KYC in an attempt to comply with regulatory requirements and also prevent
fraud and money laundering. Large amounts of data generated can very well be utilized by
marketing agencies and fraudsters to track and trap high valued customers.
Justification of Research
Barclays is a Britain based universal bank. The global bank offers retail banking services to
consumers and small businesses and corporate and investment banking services to large
businesses and institutions. The study has particularly selected the implementation of IoT for
improving employee performance and providing better services to elderly customers (Cale
Guthrie Weissman, 2014). The rationale for choosing these two particular questions is that both
form the core of the banking business. It is well established that employee performance directly
influences financial performance and it is important to keep a track of it (Flinders, 2017).
Moreover, most elderly people who access banking services are financially healthy veterans,
pensioners, and investors who create much value for banking service providers. Offering them
personalized services and making use of the Internet of Things is justified in the sense that it
would ultimately translate into increased value for the bank.
Literature Review
Banks are primary major economic agents who would benefit from the opportunities offered by
the Internet of Things (IoT). In fact, as per Capgemini, the banking industry is making heavy
investments in new digital technologies, including the Internet of Things. It is expected that the
banking sector will continue to explore new technologies for enhancing customer experiences.
The Internet of Things offers new tools that would help banks integrate and consolidate their
digital banking strategies and ultimately offer connected devices-based smart services to their
customers (Lipton et al.,2016). It is expected that banks will take full advantage of the
opportunities offered by the Internet of Things and augment their digital activities in a manner
that would lead to increased personalization in customer experience (Suseendaran et al.,2020). It
would be possible to offer the right products and services at the right time, to appropriate
customers, and through the right channel.
Methodology and Analysis
Banking Processes
In the study, it is proposed that banking processes provided at Barclays would be divided into
three categories (core processes, support processes, and management processes). In technical
terms, it is proposed that there would be macro processes, processes, and under processes in the
analysis section of the study. It is expected that the number of under processes would at least be
ten times the number of macro processes. At this stage we have assumed that the number of
macro processes would be 9, processes would be 25 and under processes would be 81.
Data Description
In an attempt to analyze the impact of the introduction of IoT on the banking processes of
Barclays, it is proposed that a correlation matrix C will be constructed. This matrix would be
filled with the help of responses made by technical and financial experts through a questionnaire
sent to them via LinkedIn and Gmail. Entries in the matrix will either be zero or one.
Data Analysis
To analyze the correlation matrix C it is proposed that hierarchical classification analysis based
on fuzzy Jaccard dissimilarity would be used. The correspondence matrix C would be an 80x7
matrix. To transform it into a 7x7 square matrix, it is proposed that the fuzzy Jaccard’s distance
on the transpose of C would be estimated. We propose to obtain a Digital Transformation Matrix
DTM for Barclays. Analysis of DTM is proposed to be done using hierarchical ascending
classification. It would be based on a data mining method based on the R ecosystem.
Hierarchical ascending classification
It is an automatic classification method commonly used in data analysis to divide a set of data
into a number of smaller classes. The method takes into account the fact that there are inherent
dissimilarities between parameters making use of set theory in the Euclidean space. The method
is labeled ascending because analysis starts from the situation where all parameters are alone in
analysis, then they are gathered into larger and larger classes.
Classical Jaccard’s index and distance
The index is used in statistics to compare similarity and diversity between samples. For two sets
P and Q, the index is calculated as:
|P Ո Q|
J ( P ,Q ) =
|P ՍQ|
Jaccard’s distance is calculated using the following formula. It is used to measure dissimilarity
between two sets.
Jδ ( P ,Q ) =1−J ( P , Q )
Fuzzy set concept
A fuzzy set P is denoted as{(x, μP(x)), x ∈ Ω} where μP(x) is the grade of the membership of x in
set P where μP(x) is a real number that satisfies 0≤ μP(x)≤1. The complement of fuzzy set P is
denoted by Pc and is defined by membership function: μP c = 1- μA(x), ∀ x ∈ Ω. Evaluation in
the model will be based on equations -
Cardn ( P )=Σ uεμ μ ( P )

Card ( A )=| A|=∑ μ P ( u )ueu

μ P ∪ Q (u )=max { μ P ( u ) , μQ ( u ) }

μ P ∩ Q (u)=min { μ P (u) , μQ (u) }

( P ∪ Q)=¿ P ∪Q∨¿∑ ue ∪ max ( μ P (u), μQ (u) )

Card ( P ∩Q )=|P ∩Q|=∑ min ( μ P ( u ) , μ Q ( u ) )ueu

Limitations
The study has intended to find out the applicability of Internet of Things in banking services of
Barclays. As it is known that banking as well Internet of Things both are vast topics , the study
has limited itself to the applicability of internet of things towards matters of employee presence
and employee performance related matters as well as application of IoT in improving services
offered to elderly customers (Cale Guthrie Weissman, 2014). Both the topics have their own
significance but they are the defined limits within which the study is proposed to be undertaken
at the moment. The method of evaluation in the study is to be based on answers submitted by
professional experts over LinkedIn and Gmail. Since the calculations of the correlation matrix
would be based on these third-party responses, applicability of the study to Barclays has been
made limited. Most importantly the field of study chosen for research is relatively new and most
of the research work in the field is either undergoing at the time of this study or is expected to be
undertaken in the near future
Time Table

 First 2-3 weeks will be devoted towards extensive data search on a wide spectrum of
topics including applicability of IoT in banking services, banking services for the elderly,
beacon service for the elderly and tracking of employee performance using sensors.
 At 4-5th week analysis of the data obtained and carrying out calculations based on the
methodology that has been proposed.
 At 6-7th week, preparation of rough draft of the study.
 At 8-9th organization of the draft work into final study.


References

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