How Banks Are Adopting RPA & Digital Assistants
Banks & other financial institutions are increasingly leveraging digital assistants and robotic process automation (RPA) to streamline business operations, improve customer experience, and reduce overall costs. Digital Assistants enhance banks customer experience and approachability, and this is the reason why they are gaining importance in banking.
These chatbots are specifically called virtual banking assistant. Most of the customers are asking digital assistants for an answer before approaching a human and they think that digital assistants answer their questions faster than a human and they are mostly satisfied if their issue is solved without talking to a person.
24/7 support assistance is something a customer would always be happy about since financial matters need resolution quickly. Approximately 75% of global banks have implemented some form of Virtual Banking Assistant in their customer service operations and over 50% of banking customers have interacted with a Virtual Banking Assistant at least once, with a significant percentage using these assistants regularly for routine banking tasks. Here’s how:
1. Customer Service Automation
- Digital assistants (chatbots/voice assistants) are widely used for handling common customer queries such as checking account balances, transaction history, or resetting passwords. AI-powered bots can provide 24/7 service, reducing the need for human interaction for routine tasks.
- Voice recognition technology helps customers interact with their accounts hands-free, improving accessibility and convenience.
- RPA supports chatbots by automating back-end processes like retrieving customer data or updating information in real-time, improving the speed and accuracy of responses.
2. Account Management
- Digital assistants can guide users through processes such as opening new accounts, applying for loans, or managing their investments.
- RPA automates manual processes in account setup, verification (KYC), and updates, speeding up onboarding and compliance checks.
3. Fraud Detection and Risk Management
- Digital assistants assist in monitoring transactions for unusual activity and alert customers or bank staff about potential fraud.
- RPA can continuously monitor for anomalies and trigger alerts, automating the process of reviewing flagged transactions and enhancing fraud prevention.
4. Loan Processing
- Digital assistants interact with customers applying for loans by answering questions, explaining terms, and gathering necessary documents.
- RPA automates the review and approval of loan applications by extracting data, checking credit history, and ensuring compliance with policies, speeding up approval times.
5. Compliance and Reporting
- Digital assistants can guide employees or customers through compliance-related questions, ensuring accuracy and regulatory adherence.
- RPA helps banks comply with complex regulations by automating the collection, analysis, and reporting of data. This reduces errors and ensures that compliance processes are up-to-date.
6. Internal Processes
- Digital assistants provide support to employees by assisting with tasks like scheduling, finding documents, or managing tasks, improving efficiency in daily operations.
- RPA automates repetitive administrative tasks such as updating records, processing payments, and handling payroll, reducing the burden on staff and freeing them for more value-added tasks.
7. Data Analysis and Insights
- Digital assistants can analyze customer spending habits and offer personalized financial advice or product recommendations.
- RPA automates data extraction and analysis processes, helping banks quickly gain insights from large datasets for decision-making.
