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The echoes of a global recession are growing louder. Every day, we hear of businesses making drastic decisions just to stay afloat. For banks, a slowing economy can be a major challenge as demand for loans and other banking services decline, leading to falling profits. While recessions are nothing new, the current global scenario makes this one unique. Unlike previous recessions, this time many industries are facing unprecedented setbacks.
Therefore, banks need to navigate the impending economic downturn with robust positioning strategies. Adopting modern technologies such as Robotic Process Automation (RPA) is a good strategy for banks to remain competitive.
In this blog post, let’s explore the reasons why banks should invest in RPA to weather the upcoming recession.
RPA and the Banking Sector
Banks must carefully budget between everyday banking operations and planning for the future in this shrinking economy. With RPA, banks don’t necessarily need to invest in extensive infrastructure, making it a true game changer. Robotic Process Automation promotes long-term growth while keeping operational costs under control.
Processes That Banks Can Automate Using RPA
Robotic Process Automation works much like macros in Microsoft Excel. RPA can mimic human actions such as mouse clicks and typing. It integrates with existing banking systems, even the ones that are not accessible via API or Web Services. Some processes that banks can automate using RPA are:
- Loan Processing
- Account Closure Process
- Know Your Customer (KYC) Process
- General Ledger
- Accounts Payable
- Report Automation
- Customer Service
RPA and ROI: Is RPA Worth the Investment?
The cost of an RPA implementation is lower compared to other transformative technologies such as Artificial Intelligence (AI). Robotic Process Automation solutions are custom-built to meet business goals. While an RPA calculator can give you a rough estimate of costs, an experienced RPA vendor needs to understand your existing processes and goals to provide a quote. For banks, RPA is a recession-proof technology because the investment typically pays off in 6 to 9 months in terms of improved productivity, compliance, and accuracy.
How a Strategic RPA Implementation Helped Texas Security Bank Increase ROI
With Eleviant, Texas Security Bank has successfully integrated RPA into its existing banking ecosystem. Watch Scott Hester, VP & Director of IT at Texas Security Bank, discuss how Eleviant’s RPA has positively impacted Texas Security Bank.
5 Reasons Banks Need to Invest in RPA to Withstand Economic Challenges
Traditional banks are no longer just competing with each other. A recent market study discusses how young adults (Gen Z) are comfortable using FinTech services. The report states that Gen Zs prefer the latest technology trends such as digital wallets, Buy Now, Pay Later (BNPL) and cryptocurrencies. Banks need to look beyond this recession to attract Gen Zers. The following are a few reasons why banks should embrace RPA:
RPA Handles Repetitive Banking Operations
Most banking operations are repetitive. Every day, your employees spend considerable work hours performing various back-office operations and customer-related compliance processes. These tasks, while important, are time-consuming, mundane, and repetitive. Robotic Process Automation can reduce the time your employees spend on these tedious procedures. While bots perform repetitive tasks, your employees can devote their time and skills to serving customers and providing exceptional service.
RPA Reduces Risks and Eliminates Errors
Even your most diligent staff make mistakes or fall sick. Human negligence can lead to critical risks, especially in an industry like banking. RPA is a rule-based automation process, and the bots can perform tasks tirelessly without any deviation. With RPA you can not only handle banking processes quickly but also reduce negligible errors. Overall, RPA can mitigate risks on several fronts which is paramount during a recession.
RPA Can Work Well with Your Existing Systems
Unlike FinTech companies, traditional banks have large amounts of customer data which is an advantage in these times. But most legacy systems are siloed, which makes it difficult to pull insights from the data. RPA works well with legacy systems and can be incorporated to get cross-functional, cross-system data to gain customer insights. It can even handle unstructured data. With RPA, banks can gain a holistic view of data and automate repetitive processes in legacy applications.
RPA is a Scalable Solution
US banks have been using offshore teams for years to cut costs and outsource tedious tasks. The money-making benefits of this model are getting smaller. RPA can do an excellent job with these outsourced tasks. The solution can be changed and added to as needed. Banks can find rule-based, clearly defined processes where they still need to spend a lot of time and effort with offshore teams and automate.
RPA Lowers Operational Costs
With RPA, you can measure the return on investment as early as a few weeks. In addition to the tangible return on investment, RPA provides intangible values such as boosting employee morale and improving customer service. Even if your employees resist automation at first, fearing layoffs, they will soon realize how RPA frees up their time for specialized tasks, empowering them to serve customers better.
Planning Your RPA Project
Like any other digital transformation project, RPA can also become a costly failure if planning and implementation are not done properly. The following are some measures you need to take for successful implementation:
Identify Processes to Automate
Conduct a thorough analysis of your business processes to identify areas you could automate. Analyze the cost, time, and man hours you could save if you automate and choose high-priority processes.
Consult an RPA Vendor
After identifying the processes to automate, carefully select an RPA vendor who has first-hand experience implementing RPA for a bank. This way, your technology partner would be proficient enough to closely collaborate with your team in defining the project scope and creating a development roadmap.
Development, Release, and Maintenance
With the project plan, the development team would start working on the project iteratively. The RPA vendor would release proofs of concept which can be tested and optimized to gather insights for the next iteration. After each release, it is crucial to monitor the operations.
Unleash the Power of RPA with Eleviant
The benefits of an RPA in banking are multi-fold and too compelling to ignore in this economy. A good RPA vendor would work with you in exploring areas where you could begin implementing this technology and strategize for growth. Get in touch with us, to unleash the power of RPA in your organization and reduce your worries of a recession.
