Quantum is a world changing opportunity, with the power not just to reshape and transform entire industries, but ignite and catalyse entirely new ones. Enterprise ready quantum platforms are already deployed globally by OQC and being explored by organisations, where their limitless potential is already being seen. By taking quantum competency out of the lab and achieving the world’s first deployment into colocation data centres, OQC Toshiko systems are able to serve enterprise data needs: the world’s first and only ERQC. Through pre-existing high performance computing centres where our quantum computing resources are co-located with customer data and partner hardware, customers are able to explore and utilise quantum capabilities, through their existing secure digital infrastructure.

From theory to execution

The financial services industry is anticipated to be the industry to reap the largest benefits with quantum: with McKinsey estimating that by 2035, the use cases in the finance sector alone could create $622 billion in value to the industry, derived from improving existing processes but also new use cases that could change the financial system entirely. We are growing closer to a future where it could be possible to simulate the entire market to make investment decisions, optimise portfolios to achieve improved return and minimal risk, and detect fraud accurately and instantaneously, saving hundreds of millions of pounds every year.

The paradigm shift enabled by quantum and its ability to make entirely new forms of information processing possible will not just accelerate opportunities, but catalyse entirely new ones for the financial sector. A recent report published by Temenos surveyed 300 executives across retail, commercial and private banking around the world. Among other things, it found that 63% of executives thought new technologies – including quantum computing – would have the biggest impact on banks in the next five years, compared to just 34% for the next most popularly cited trend: changing customer behaviours. This 63% in 2023 compares to just 42% answering this way in 2019, articulating the growing awareness and interest in quantum.

A new era for financial services

As the pioneers of enterprise ready quantum, OQC see three  main use cases for finance (but there are many more):

1. Generative modelling
   1. Fraud Detection
   2. Probability Distribution Preparation
   3. Deep hedging

2. Reinforcement Learning
   1. Algorithmic Trading
   2. Market Making
   3. Deep hedging

3. Clustering
   1. Fraud Detection
   2. Stock Selection
   3. Exchange Rate Regimes
   4. Hedge Fund Clustering

To bring this to life a bit more lets dig into one example a bit deeper:  the impact of quantum fraud detection in the era of fault-tolerant systems. A key component of identifying and stopping credit card fraud is through anomaly detection – which seeks to find rogue events amongst a collection of valid events. Kernel methods are a class of techniques in classic and quantum machine learning for pattern analysis so it projects data into a higher dimensional space and looks for simpler patterns within that more complex space. Quantum kernel methods have exponential speedup for certain problem structures, over classical kernel methods, potentially creating significantly better pattern detection and better rogue event detection.

Even a few percent increase on the average detection can lead to multi-million savings and 20 qubits is all that is required to achieve a 15% increase in detection; the challenge remains to understand how this saving is impacted by the scaling of qubits numbers to be comparable with the current state of the art classical algorithms. With a billion pounds of fraud prevented yearly in the UK, a 15% increase in detection on larger datasets will bring £150 million back into the economy. To make this a reality, quantum experts like OQC will be focusing on key areas such as power through high quality, stable systems that are scalable with high fidelity qubits; easy access that is readily available in market; and bolstered security, to ensure data is secure and can remain in organisations current digital infrastructures.

Preparing for a quantum future, today

As the technology continues to develop and is more widely adopted, the key questions will surround the pace of change that will drive us towards the solutions to the world’s most complex problems. While the industry progresses to real-world applications and the financial sector is leading the way, a critical impact will be adoption: there is currently very little quantum capabilities embedded into companies. The current  lack of strategy and resources to explore and build quantum capability within enterprises, suggests CEOs and leaders need to start  acknowledging the potential of quantum as a major asset within their long-term vision today in order to be ahead of the curve and reap the benefits. Globally, the financial services industry’s spending on quantum computing capabilities is expected to grow 233x from just US$80 million in 2022 to US$19 billion in 2032, growing at a 10-year CAGR of 72%, according to research by Deloitte.

Getting ahead of the competition

Financial institutes that are early adopters of quantum computing will see significant benefits, including being able to more effectively analyse large or unstructured data sets. While some organisations have formed quantum teams to start integrating enterprise ready quantum and programming solutions within their business, there is still an immense opportunity for businesses in the financial services industry to be at the forefront of the technology and reap the earliest rewards.

Find out how quantum could transform your business, by visiting our website or contacting the team at [email protected].