The pace of digital operations has increased significantly during the last few years, in nearly every sector. Organizations struggle to restructure the previously fragmented, ad-hoc processes – straddling various areas of technology – into streamlined and efficient workflows. The challenges of secure document collection tend to remain at the top of the stack, even for banking institutions. Despite their traditionally risk-averse and innovation-resistant stance, banking institutions have felt increasing pressure to provide more of the online, self-service, and mobile options to clients. In fact, adapting to changing customer preferences with regard to technologies such as client portals and maintaining secure document collection practices has become a real challenge for banking instititions. For banking organizations, getting documents, signatures, forms, and other kinds of data into complete protected files quickly will mean adopting the right technologies. Adopting automation technologies can help banks reduce operational costs and perform more efficiently. In addition, the technology helps optimize document scanning and document conversion services.
What Is Automated Document Collection?
In simple terms, automated document collection refers to the use of an online software platform to streamline the process of collecting different kinds of documents, forms, and other data from clients. Automated data collection platform creates a single upload pipeline for documentation entering an organization’s repository. Apart from organized file sharing, automated document collection also enables more advanced features such as e-signature request and retrieval, automated process monitoring, and scheduled reminders for missing documents near deadlines. In fact, these advanced features make the process of automated document collection a powerful means of improving operational efficiency and cost-effectiveness in banking institutions that deal with huge volumes of sensitive documents and client data.
Most banking institutions require efficient document processing within fixed time frames. Processing loan approvals (both commercial and consumer) typically involve paper files and digital documents such as bank statements, accounts payable documentation, notarizations, profit and loss statements and signatures. In fact, collecting these documents through document portals can help secure and speed up processing time while reducing the chances of potential errors or loss of documents. As clients expect more real-time, omnichannel options for interacting with businesses, automating document collection can help banking institutions achieve higher standards of performance and customer satisfaction.
Here discussed are some top benefits that document automation offers banking institutions –
- Cost Reduction – When it comes to document collection, banking organizations face many challenges related to unorganized, hybrid document processes. These include – recreating documents that they can’t find, locating documents, improper labeling and naming of documents and saving of information in the wrong folder/system.
- Reduced Physical Resource Consumption – Paper filing processes are inefficient and expensive. Reports suggest that companies spend approximately $20 to file and store paper documents and in the process tend to misplace 7.5 percent. Replacing paper processes with digital solutions saves companies an average of 40 percent of their total document management costs.
- Reduced Skilled Labor Hours – In most banks, trained professionals tend to spend as much time locating scattered information as they do in communication with the clients. Consolidating document collection in a single place can free up a significant amount of time.
Automated document collection reduces costs in two different ways –
- Enable Clients to Interact Directly through Portals – Client interactions with the banks have undergone significant evolution in recent times. Adoption of digital and mobile services from the side of clients helps create positive engagement and connection. As 24×7 omnichannel communication has become the standard for business-client relationships, offering clients different options to gain live visibility into their own data can help improve banking experiences. In addition, automated document collection channels allow clients to upload missing documents immediately, reducing lag time when items have been forgotten.
- Fast Turnaround Time – With automated data collection, banking institutions can expect an average 34 percent reduction in document turnaround times. With more time to engage with clients directly, bankers can improve overall customer satisfaction, shorten their sales cycles, and satisfy audit requests more efficiently.
- Error Reduction – Manually collecting information spread across systems and formats compounds the chances for errors to enter the files. On an average, human data entry without verification processes reports an error rate of around 4 percent. Having a single integrated platform for automated document collection significantly reduces the error-prone vulnerabilities involved in regular document processes.
- System-wide Visibility – Correctly accessing the status of applications and approvals at any point of time can involve spending a significant amount of time on sorting lengthy email threads and gathering information through calls and texts. The longer processing time can increase the chances of errors. With an automated system, everyone involved in the process can see exactly what documents are being received and the time wherein they are being received. As this information is logged in a single authoritative source, it eliminates the chances for confusion or miscommunication.
- Security and Compliance – Breaches of personal or financial data within the banking organization can damage professional reputation. In today’s data-driven world, careless handling of sensitive information can lead to potentially serious legal liabilities. Complying with KYC regulations is crucial for banks. For instance, before allowing a customer to open an account, banks need to verify their identity. This process involves continuous communication between the bank and the client. As such a long process will not fit into a fast-paced industry; document automation can be of real help. An online form can be given to customers to fill in their details as well as add identification documents. All the information entered gets automatically verified. This results in speedy completion of the KYC document process.
- Automation of Repetitive Manual Tasks – When it comes to document collection processes, agents spend a significant amount of time maintaining contact with clients to gather information through follow-up calls, emails, and texts. However, with automated document collection software, you can enter critical dates into the calendar and set automated reminders through a preferred range of channels. Automating these repetitive tasks not only saves time, but also ensures that no important deadlines are missed.
Today, banks are looking to adopt new-age technology to provide better services to their customers. For banking institutions, automating the document collection process can help streamline business processes and improve efficiency, thereby reducing costs. Banking institutions can digitize their processes and records with the help of document scanning solutions, and optimize operations and efficiency.
