The pressure is starting to mount for the banking industry to find new ways to meet changing consumer demands and to accommodate an increasingly increasing number of clients.
RPA is capable of digitizing bank front, middle and back offices. Together with AI, the technology produces intelligent automation that assists in cost reduction as financial companies try to cut costs in a market where it takes a lot of effort to attract customers. The technology usually drives approximately 25-50 percent of savings in a study, thus increasing the performance metrics of the applicable functions.
Recently, one of Africa’s largest banks has attracted attention from the world as they have deployed RPA to save labour costs and reap operating efficiency. This technology has also been adopted by some other major banks, including Standard Bank and Union Bank to automate their business processes.
The automation of robotic processes has thus proved to reduce workload, costs and other monotonous activities for employees. This also reduces the amount of time required to complete the manual tasks and process customer request.
Customer demands define banking operations
The demands of customers when it comes to banking are extremely high. Today, we all expect banks to protect investments around the clock while delivering high quality and quick service. So if they don’t, the real risk is consumers will take our money elsewhere.
RPA and AI are the leading technologies for the banking industry advancement
Banking has undergone a massive expansion over the last century, due in large part to developments in technology. Such developments have significantly expanded the number of people who already have one or even several banking accounts worldwide. And that, of course, means that the processes and people who used to work for a few hundred customers will now accommodate thousands of people.
As a result, banks need to adapt all structures and processes to accommodate an increasing number of customers as well as the increasing requirements and demands that banks impose on those customers.
Ground-breaking innovations such as artificial intelligence (AI) and robotic process automation (RPA) offer efficient ways to automate banking (and many other industries) structures and processes, helping banks secure growth and profitability into the future. The impact these developments would have on companies and individuals in the coming years can not be underestimated – it can be contrasted with the seismic change that the invention of electricity had in the 18th century. And much like that fateful moment in time, today it will be the companies who make the most of innovations such as AI and RPA who come out on top.
To be successful with RPA and AI, it is vital that bankers remember these keys to general success.
- Not deploying technology broad enough
- Without working with the right partner, limited understanding of RPA and AI can lead many organizations to severely restrict the technology’s application. Make sure you do your homework and meet with a specialist in RPA to ensure that you find all business areas where RPA and AI can improve processes and systems. Ideally, your partners should have a combination of Lean Six Sigma for workflow improvements and AI/RPA for technological application.
- Automating and already inefficient process
- Some businesses who hop too fast on the RPA bandwagon don’t stop before evaluating the reliability of the processes they plan to automate. It is possible to automate inefficient or ineffective processes but would significantly obstruct the long-term benefits you would hope to see. To ensure that you optimize the cost- and time-saving advantages of RPA, make sure that any process you plan to automate is thoroughly checked and that it is planned in the most streamlined way possible.
- Failing to utilize the full power of RPA combined with AI
- The third and final cautionary area relates to the disparity between RPA and AI, and how both can work together to achieve optimum performance. RPA is a perfect tool for process automation, but it is also a basic cornerstone of artificial intelligence. For instance, RPA-automated processes may provide the artificial intelligence feedback required for decision making. Individually, these two influential innovations provide a range of approaches, but when combined, they can become part of true innovation, helping to drive the digital transformation of the enterprise. A lack of a clear understanding of how each of these innovations function, and how they can affect the company separately and together, would likely result in a series of immediate solutions with little effect on long-term business goals
Analyze, Improve, Standardize and then Automation banking processes
The pace at which banks will be able to adopt these innovative technologies properly will have a huge effect on their growth and profitability in the coming years. This is even more important when you look at the results of the close relationship between the financial system of a country and its economic development. In other words, banking growth in Ghana, Nigeria, South Africa and other African nations will directly impact the growth of their economies.
Although the pace is important in the banking industry, it is worth taking a break to consider the three cautionary areas outlined in this article to ensure that you apply RPA and AI to the right business areas, do not skip the promises and cost savings by automating inefficient processes and take full advantage of the combined power of RPA and AI.
