Process Automation in Banking Sector: Examples & Tips

Digital transformation is everywhere in finance and banking, and it is necessary for CFOs to stay abreast of the ever changing technologies to stay on top. From process automation in banking sector to the use of advanced analytics and everything in between, we’re going to cover key trends in banking technology. 

We’ll also share some of the best banking automation solutions.

Coming Up

What is Process Automation in Banking Sector?

What are the Benefits of Process Automation in Banking Sector?

What are Example Use Cases of Process Automation in Banking Sector?

What are Challenges of Process Automation in Banking Sector?

How to Implement Process Automation in Banking Sector?

How to Choose the Right Process Automation Software for Banking?

Closing Words

What is Process Automation in Banking Sector?

Most of what you’ll see referred to as process automation in banking sector is robotic process automation (RPA). Robotic process automation is the use of software to execute basic and rule-based tasks. 

Robotic process automation works through the use of bots that mimic human actions by interacting with digital systems to read what’s on a screen, click buttons, copy/paste data, generate reports, etc. 

Since the banking industry deals with a lot of these types of data-heavy and meticulous tasks, RPA is a big help to save time and boost accuracy. 

Combined with RPA is the need for a finance automation solution that offers advanced analytics and the ability to connect and transform your data for insights. That’s where SolveXia comes in. SolveXia is not RPA, but it beautifully complements RPA. While RPA manages your back-office and repetitive tasks, SolveXia is capable of connecting data and systems, transforming data to be usable, and providing data-driven insights for key decision making capabilities. 

What are the Benefits of Process Automation in Banking Sector?

To drill a bit deeper, let’s look at the main benefits you gain when applying process automation in banking. 

1. Save Time

Let’s face it– software works faster than humans. And, that’s okay because the intention isn’t to replace humans, it’s to augment their work so that they can apply their brain power towards high-level tasks. You can get more done in less time with process automation. 

2. Reduce Costs

With less human man hours, as well as fewer mistakes, you can save on expenses. Simultaneously, you can free up your team’s time to spend better understanding data-driven insights. With this knowledge, they have what they need to make informed decisions to drive the business forward. 

3. Increase Efficiency

RPA prevents repetitive and cumbersome tasks from sucking up your team’s valuable time. In this way, the organization can increase its efficiency and productivity levels. 

4. Scale Operations

Finance automation software’s accuracy and efficiency isn’t based on the amount of work in front of it– it’s constantly the same and can scale with the organization’s needs. 

5. Mitigate Mistakes

Finance automation tools manages its tasks with utmost accuracy. On the other hand, human error is inevitable. Since finance functions are highly regulated, accuracy is absolutely critical to avoid costly errors, fines, and reputational damage. 

Senior stakeholders gain access to insights, accurate data, and the means to maintain internal control to reduce compliance risk. For example, with SolveXia, you can run processes 85x faster with 90% less errors. 

What are Example Use Cases of Process Automation in Banking Sector?

There’s a lot that banks have to be concerned with when handling day-to-day operations. From data security to regulations and compliance, process automation can help alleviate bank employees’ burdens by streamlining common workflows. 

For example, process automation in banking sector can be applied to: 

1. Know Your Customer 

With increasing regulations around know-your-customer (KYC), banks are utilizing automation to assist. Automation technology can sync with your existing technology stacks, so they can help perform the necessary due diligence without skipping a beat or missing any key customer data. Plus, you can trust that your data is always up-to-date. 

2. Accounts Payable

Paper-based processes are prone to bottlenecks and key person dependencies. This is an issue, especially when it comes to accounts payable. Since it’s a tedious and repetitive task, companies can apply process automation with optical character recognition (OCR) to capture and enter data. All the while, you have access to an audit trail, which improves compliance. 

3. Customer Service

For any business, customer service is of primary importance. Automation in the banking industry can help to streamline outcomes and decrease the time it takes to resolve customer issues. 

As a result, customers feel more satisfied and happy with your bank’s care. To exemplify, you can utilize process automation to check account balances, check a mortgage loan application status, or even to answer a simple inquiry with RPA-enabled chatbots. 

To take it a step further, you can include finance automation software like SolveXia into your repertoire to handle more complex workflows, such as: reconciliation and rebate management. 

4. Regulatory Compliance

With the financial industry being one of the most regulated industries, it takes a lot of time and money to remain compliant. RPA bots can pull together data across sources and automatically update a bank’s internal system to ensure that data guidelines are up-to-date. 

5. Customer Onboarding

Onboarding new clients is time-consuming, but of course necessary for a bank’s continued success. With the amount of data required to verify a new customer, bank employees tend to spend a lot of time manually processing paperwork. 

Instead, a process automation software can help to set up an account and monitor processes. In turn, the bank benefits from decreased operational risks and costs. And, customers get onboarded more quickly, which promotes loyalty and satisfaction on their behalf. 

6. Fraud Detection

You can also use process automation to prevent and detect fraud early on. With machine learning anomaly detection systems, you no longer have to solely rely on human instinct or judgment to spot potential fraud. 

Instead, these systems will continuously monitor transactions and identify any anomalies from a rule-based system to then flag your team members for scrutiny. 

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As you can see, there are many instances where process automation in banking sector makes perfect sense. However, you can take process automation even further with the combination of the right technology solutions. 

Since RPA is used to automate basic and back-office tasks, it’s limited in its scope. If you’re looking to completely transform your organization and maximize its ability to automate entire key processes, you’ll need to also include the use of a finance automation solution like SolveXia. 

SolveXia can be used to handle key finance functions, like: regulatory reporting, reconciliation, expense analytics, APRA reporting, and more. SolveXia transforms your data into valuable insights to make informed decisions. 

At the same time, it is used to automate complex processes that RPA alone isn’t equipped to handle. With SolveXia, you can complete processes 85x faster with 90% fewer errors and eliminate spreadsheet-driven and disparate data. 

What are Challenges of Process Automation in Banking Sector?

With the implementation of any new technology, you stand to face some hurdles. But, don’t worry– all of them can be overcome, especially when you are aware of them from the get go and can prepare. 

Some common challenges include:

1. Employee Resistance 

Despite the countless benefits of process automation, many people may feel adverse to learning a new system or fear it will overtake their job. To overcome this hurdle, change management is critical. 

2. IT Assistance 

In some cases, IT departments may be over bandwidth to be able to implement new systems. An easy fix to this is to find low-code solutions that don’t rely on IT teams to deploy. For example, SolveXia is a low code platform! 

During your consideration and implementation phases, it’s a good idea to keep reminding yourself and key stakeholders that there are way more pros than cons when it comes to process automation. 

How to Implement Process Automation in Banking Sector?

When you’re ready to implement process automation in your business, these are helpful steps to follow:

1. Process Identification

Begin by defining what processes are well-suited for automation and prioritize those that will give you the most “bang for your buck.” Process mapping is useful at this stage. 

2. Choose the Right Tool

When searching for the right technology, consider it as onboarding a partner, rather than a software. An ideal process automation vendor offers an array of resources and is readily available should you have any need. 

3. Take Your Time

Process automation isn’t a one-and-done task. It’s something you’ll want to continuously monitor to ensure its success. In the same vein, along with proper change management, you’ll want to keep in mind the organization’s overall goals. 

By doing so, you’ll know when it’s time to complement RPA software with more robust finance automation tools like SolveXia. 

How to Choose the Right Process Automation Software for Banking?

The “right” tool looks different for every business and user. However, it’s best to look out for process automation software that is:

• User-friendly
• Cost-effective 
• Secure 
• Accessible (think cloud-based) 

Since people with different levels of technical skill will come into contact with the chosen solution, it’s recommended to find one that is intuitive and features drag-and-drop visual functionality, rather than coding. 

Closing Words

From just the few examples above, it’s clear to see why process automation in banking sector is so desirable and necessary for success in this day and age. The influx and volume of data combined with the regulatory compliance and data-heavy tasks positions process automation software to dramatically better any banking business, big or small. 

Along with RPA tools, finance automation software like SolveXia can aid in boosting productivity, increasing accuracy, and providing a host of analytics to make timely decisions. Want to learn more? Request a demo today!