Image by: PhonlamaiPhoto, ©2018 Getty Images
Kofax and Digital Banking Trends have teamed up to issue the 2018 Financial Services Industry Survey Report, which focuses on how financial institutions can adhere to and streamline compliance needs as part of the customer onboarding process. The global survey was conducted with 100 leading financial institutions, and it highlights the challenges that financial institutions face regarding the time and cost associated with opening and managing customer accounts. As a result, survey respondents reported that they expect to see increased use of robotic process automation (RPA) software to address their compliance requirements, most notably in document gathering (41%) and in customer off-boarding (32%).
There are a number of compliance regulations that financial institutions must comply with when a customer opens a new account, including Customer Due Diligence (CDD), Know Your Customer (KYC), and Anti-Money Laundering (AML). While these regulations are important, they delay the process for onboarding new customers and add many levels of administrative processes. In today’s world, where customers are use to instant access to information via mobile devices, chatbots to answer questions, and self-service technologies to provide instant answers, the use of RPA software can greatly reduce the time it takes to complete all the necessary paperwork when applying for a loan.
Highlights from the report include:
- 32% of respondents said they expect a 20–29% increase in AML compliance costs in 2018, while only 5% expect a decrease.
- 68% obtain the information required to comply with CDD, KYC, and AML mandates from up to five third-party sources.
- 36% anticipate up to a 10% increase in spending for CDD, KYC, and AML technology over the next 12-18 months.
As companies further their digital transformation journeys and the cost of compliance functions only continue to rise, the use of RPA tools and bots will only become more and more prevalent.
Rob Goodman is a staff writer at DOCUMENT Strategy. He covers information management, collaboration, and digital technologies. He is a communications professional who has always been intrigued by how technology shapes our world. Follow him on Twitter @rgoodman1.
