A shift towards an evolved form of banking that is paperless and branch-less, is happening real-time.
Since times immemorial banks have been the trusted custodians of currency. Considering how crucial currency is to survival. Now, in a world that is fast moving towards being near-completely paperless, won’t it be a situation of pure panic if banks became obsolete?
Thanks to the banking sector’s brilliant shape-shifting capabilities though, that doesn’t seem to be a cause of worry at the moment. With millennial forming a major part of any bank’s customer base, a shift towards increased mobility and decreased turn-around-time is inevitable. A shift towards an evolved form of banking that is paperless and branch-less, is happening real-time.
Know Your Client sans Paper
Imaging technology as part of ECM systems make account opening a lot smoother without compromising on the security aspect. When equipped with an efficient imaging enabled system that allows them to capture customer information and upload it all into a safe repository inside the bank’s core system, it leads to happier customers. Moving around with a truckload of documents only in order to be able to open a bank account could be the perfect reason for any time-starved customer to avoid such a process altogether.
The impact such technology has on the impression that field staff makes on prospective customers is an additional perk. Considering these guys are often the initial touch-point between a bank and a customer, the impression they make is pretty much the bank’s first impression itself. So, when someone out there on the field comes across as providing suave customer experience, the first impression bit is taken care of.
Filling the Gap in Lending
The gap which alternative lenders have tapped into has been created by painstakingly long loan processes. A customer looking for a loan surely does not need the additional headache that is brought in by a loan application that needs light years to come around. Going digital and making use of Enterprise Mobility helps traditional banks fill this gap by providing swift and secure loans to customers.
Be it calculating a customer’s credit score or cross checking their documents thereby ensuring whether or not they are eligible for the loan, all of this can be done in a few hours once a paperless banking system enters the scene. In the 21st century, it is not enough to ensure customers get what they need, but to also ensure they get it when they need it. A repository that keeps customer information safe and anytime accessible, is the need of the hour and can help in making the lending process a lot faster.
Less Paper Load Automatically Translates to Happier Customers
Having been exposed to tabs and smartphones and laptops at a fairly young age, the millennial customers are likely to be a lot happier when their banking functions can also be carried out by the same devices. Carrying documents and paper forms, be it for account opening or feedback, are way too tedious for such a generation to even take into consideration. From paying bills to applying for credit cards, just about everything can be done from the comfort of one’s own home. Why then would anyone be happy running about when it comes to other banking operations?
The only reason millennial have been completely bought in by the idea of EMIs and loans is because most of this is available online and involves no extra time or running about. Be it tracking EMI cycles, loans or insurance premiums, all is available at the click of a button. In fact more like the download of an app. Customers can sit back and check such stuff while on a lunch break at work or on their way back from the gym, irrespective of how early in the morning it is and whether or not it is a bank holiday.
With the kind of schedules most customers run, having to go to the bank to pay premium or EMI, or even having to keep track on a piece of paper could be the perfect trigger for a panic attack. Nothing of the sort happens though, thanks to massive use of ECM topped with Mobility features in the banking sector.
Banking Made Environment-Friendly
Apart from all the practical aspects, paperless banking also serves a massive environmental purpose. We all know the connection between tree-felling and paper making by now. So, by saving paper and performing almost every function a paper document would do, paperless banking can in fact save forests and give us a better environment.
With a customer, it’s all in the mind, and by reducing their paperwork, mobility-driven paperless banking eases customers’ minds thereby ensuring they stay and stay sane.
(The author is Senior Vice President of Sales & Marketing / Products at Newgen Software)
