Quantum Meets Finance

OVER 100 QUANTUM AND FINANCE experts gathered at The Quantum Terminal in late August to explore the potential impact of emerging quantum technologies.   

At the event, delivered by Australia's Chief Scientist and co-hosted by SQA and CSIRO, Dr Cathy Foley highlighted the recent long-awaited release in the US of the first quantum-resistant cryptographic standards as one of many developments needing to be prioritised by the finance sector. 

“There is an urgency in preparing for quantum technologies which could break existing encryption systems.  This is not something that can be addressed by simply plugging in these new cryptographic standards – it will take time and a more holistic response,” warned Dr Foley. 

“The finance sector should be skilling up and integrating quantum in strategic planning now to future proof security systems,” she added. “It should also be exploring opportunities quantum computing may provide – from improvements to fraud detection and complex modelling, to delivering efficiencies across payment systems – to name a few.” 

Finance speakers including Australian Banking Association’s CEO Anna Bligh AC and Gateway Network Governance Body’s CEO Michelle Bower, highlighted the highly dynamic nature of banking and financial transactions which could benefit from quantum technologies. 

“Customers are shifting online at speed with over 99.9% of transactions now taking place online. This brings efficiency and convenience but also presents security challenges,” said Ms Bligh. 

Michelle Bower of the Gateway Network Governance Body added: “Each year, approximately 160 million superannuation contribution transactions flow through the superannuation transaction network, from nearly 1 million employers. Given the scale and vast amounts of data involved, quantum computing has the potential to significantly enhance data security with advancements in cryptography and cyber.”

Association of Superfunds Australia’s CEO Mary Delahunty, Fintech Australia’s CEO Rehan D'Almeida, Bank of Queensland’s CTO Robert Wilson, Emerging Payments Association Asia's CEO Camilla Bullock, and Andy White, CEO of Australian Payments Network, also joined in panel discussions.

Representing the quantum and cyber security sector were panellists from Amazon Web Services, BTQ Technologies, Diraq, EY, Quintessence Labs, Penten and the Sydney Quantum Academy, as well as researchers from University of Sydney, University of Technology Sydney and Swinburne University of Technology.

Most acknowledged that a quantum computer capable of outperforming classical computers for complex financial calculations is not yet a reality.  However, as Dr David Garvin of Rigetti Computing highlighted “now is the time for the financial technical domain and quantum experts to work together to identify and isolate the problems which can be feasibly tackled with quantum”. 

“For instance, we suspect quantum computers may be able to enhance machine learning calculations and improve accuracy – leading to more efficient risk calculations and ultimately helping to lower costs for consumers and improve revenue.”  

The need for specialised training, industry internships and PhDs to tackle skill shortages and lack of quantum expertise in the sector was also raised.   

Where to next? 

Bank of Queensland CTO Robert Wilson highlighted that while quantum was on the radar for most, the banking industry was currently more focused on realising the near-term benefits offered by AI.  “To get things moving, we might need to look at how we link up the investment and interest in fintech and AI with quantum,” said Mr Wilson.

“This is just the beginning of an important conversation,” summarised Dr Foley.  

“We have some of the world’s smartest people working on this, rapid investment, and public-sector backing to accelerate quantum computing around the globe – so it’s no longer an ‘if’ but ‘when’ and that ‘when’ could be sooner than we think.”  

The event is a part of the ‘Quantum Meets’ series delivered by Australia’s Chief Scientist and CSIRO with further events planned in the coming months for the health and logistics sectors.  

A report will be made available later this year.   

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