The ever-evolving dynamics of the banking and financial services industry are compelling organizations to rethink their operations. A structured approach that identifies, optimizes, and monitors business processes ensures better, timely service delivery. Business Process Management (BPM) is a critical component of this transformation. This strategic methodology assesses the current situation, synchronizes activities, creates workflows, standardizes operations, and gauges performance to mitigate deviations. By leveraging digital technologies that enable automation, data, and analytics, BPM optimizes and streamlines banking operations.
Revival with Business Process Management in Banking
Today, banks face stringent regulations and compliance requirements while striving to attain customer satisfaction and achieve operational goals. Unprecedented external and internal factors often push banks toward establishing better banking processes to balance rising customer expectations and the needs of a dynamic financial landscape.
BPM combined with intelligent applications like Robotic Process Automation (RPA), Artificial Intelligence (AI), Machine Learning (ML), and Natural Language Processing (NLP) enhances automation for critical workflow processes. These include account opening, Know Your Customer (KYC) procedures, application processing, verifications and compliance regulation management, thereby enhancing efficiency and achieving business objectives.
Optimizing Banking Operations with BPM
Tethering the different operational aspects together, BPM acts as a building block for banking organizations and has been creating tangible operational impact with a customer-first and agile approach.
Banks can optimally harness their potential by integrating BPM across the following critical functionalities:
1) Customer Onboarding
By streamlining and automating the end-to-end onboarding process, bottlenecks are removed and the straight-through cases are processed speedily. Integrating a deft BPM software enables the bank to collect accurate customer data from various reliable channels like mobile devices, third-party platforms, websites, etc., and switch to paper-free, real-time application processing. While enhancing the accuracy, this approach also provides a better customer experience.
2) Lending
The otherwise time-consuming lending process is streamlined with utmost precision by leveraging the right BPM strategy. From enabling omni-channel application processes to conducting easy eligibility checks, virtual document accumulation, strategic underwriting, and most importantly a strategic lending approval matrix, BPM facilitates all critical functions while ensuring regulatory and audit compliance.
3) Product Launches
Unlike the traditional banking strategy, which takes a very long time to launch new products and services, BPM enables better, faster innovation in a standardized form across all branches. This reduces the cost of implementation, saves time, and positions the banks advantageously for better customer retention.
4) Customer Services
Informed interactions with customers (through the data made available by BPM software) ensure a better service experience. By using omni-channel platforms to connect with customers, banks can strengthen their customer relations, improving sales and after-sales services.
5) Risk and Compliance
Deploying a BPM strategy enables better compliance for financial institutions and banks through risk identification and consistent processes across all functions. Enhanced controls, along with better audibility and visibility, help lower risks and facilitate more compliant operations.
Treading ahead with BPM
The digital-first approach has re-defined banking in the modern world. With advanced technologies permeating every operational aspect and extending the offerings portfolio, BPM has broadened the banking horizon, benefiting it in several ways:
- Improved task management and speed through process management software
- Enhanced processing speed and workforce management
- Higher productivity with human and digital integration
- Better service and customer experience
- Better regulatory compliance and risk mitigation
- Improved bottom line through efficient resource allocation and service-level agreements
Automation and AI have immense potential to holistically transform the banking sector. Organizations deploying BPM are looking for ways to integrate the power of humans with digital, envisioning a future-proof framework to withstand a hyper-competitive market and customer needs.
Know more about how your banking and financial services organization can drive agile operations and innovative business models in a disruptive landscape.