JPMorgan Chase: Betting on Tech as the Future of Finance

Technology has become a competitive differentiator across the financial sector, and there’s arguably no better example of this than JPMorgan Chase. 

The company has spent $11 billion on tech initiatives and 20 percent of its workforce is comprised of software engineers, according to Diane Rogerson, the bank’s Delaware technology leader. 

Rogerson works out of JPMorgan Chase’s Delaware Technology Center campus, which employs more than 3,400 tech analysts. 

“It helps where Delaware is located,” she says. “That’s big in attracting talent. Chase is bringing more branches to the Mid-Atlantic region and Delaware.”

Technology has become a huge part of the customer experience for JPMorgan Chase, even for those who are visiting branches. Rogerson reports that the company’s ATMs allow people to do “70 percent of what they can do” in a brick-and-mortar office. Those who do go inside will meet tellers using tablets and digital tools to make the banking experience easier and more secure. 

“We want to give our customers technology they are comfortable operating,” she says. “We are finding that by showing them how to use technology, we can increase their ease with banking.”

That improved customer experience goes well beyond the branch visit. Thanks to a large growth in machine learning, JPMorgan Chase is able to help those calling for customer service to be routed more quickly and efficiently based on data gathered and analyzed from previous encounters, be they in person, online or over the phone.

“It makes for a more cohesive end-to-end customer experience,” Rogerson says. “It allows us to track the trends of activity of customers.”

As JPMorgan Chase works to improve the daily connection it has with customers across a variety of platforms, it realizes no amount of technological advancement can succeed without a strong network of security behind it. Rogerson reports the company has partnered with a variety of software companies throughout the fintech universe to create more products designed to keep customers’ information and money safe.

Although the hackers continue to move at a quick pace in their efforts, JPMorgan Chase is getting better and more proactive in its ability to thwart their attempts to gain access to sensitive data. Rogerson says JPMorgan Chase has spent more than $600 million on cybersecurity efforts.

“We’re using technology to help improve our responses in network security, e-mail security and how to protect the bank from ransomware and malware,” Rogerson says.

One thing JPMorgan Chase is particularly proud of as it continues its technological growth is its partnerships with Delaware institutions to help find talent it can employ in that pursuit.

“We have worked with the community on different levels,” Rogerson says. “We are working with colleges and outlets like [Wilmington-based coding program] Zip Code. Those are fantastic resources for us, and a win-win solution. We are able to make an impact in the region. That’s a key for us in our differentiation as an institution.”

—Michael Bradley