GDPR vs. Big Data & AI in FinTechs

This article addresses the compliance of the use of Big Data and Artificial Intelligence (AI) by FinTechs with European data protection principles. FinTechs are increasingly replacing traditional credit institutions and are becoming more important in the provision of financial services, especially by using AI and Big Data. The ability to analyze a large amount of different personal data at high speed can provide insights into customer spending patterns, enable a better understanding of customers, or help predict investments and market changes. However, once personal data is involved, a collision with all basic data protection principles stipulated in the European General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) arises, mostly due to the fact that Big Data and AI meet their overall objectives by processing vast data that lies beyond their initial processing purposes. The author shows that within this ratio, pseudonymization can prove to be a privacy-compliant and thus preferable alternative for the use of AI and Big Data while still enabling FinTechs to identify customer needs.