Transforming Financial Services with Automation: Achieving Over 90% Cost and Time Savings

The financial sector world has been on the frontline in terms of digital transformation due to the efficiency, measuring accuracy, and scalability. In the current competitive environment, all organizations are in the high stress to ensure that processes are simplified, costs of operation are minimized and customer experiences are improved.

One of the largest financial services companies has just carried out a large-scale automation program to transform its business. A high level of automation led to exceptional outcomes in the organization, such as more than 90 percent savings on costs and time, increased velocity in document turnaround and simplified operations in all its procedures across the international businesses. The blog discusses how their business was revolutionized by automation and new standards set to guarantee efficient and innovative operations.

The Challenge: Modernizing Financial Operations

Financial services industry is an area of complexity, which has its operations across various geographies and acts and regulations, as well as data structures. In the case of the operation organization, a number of operational challenges were known to have hampered its efficiency in operations and customer satisfaction:

1. Document Translation Requirements in the whole world. Finance records had to be converted into various languages and various standards so as to satisfy the international regulatory standards. The currently used manual processes were slow and took a lot of human activities in order to be accurate and consistent. These tasks, which require up to two weeks to finish, are slowing down operations, making it more expensive, and a possibility of error, which may affect compliance and customer confidence.
2. Automated Statement Generation. There was a challenge in the generation of eStatements through digital banking. Every statement was to be truthfully consistent with data pertaining to the customers and must be of strict format and regulations. Prior to automation, this was a very manual process that was time-consuming, subject to processing errors and could not handle the sheer amount of customer information being handled per day.
3. Global Transactions eReceipts. The development of eReceipts of global transactions provided extra dimensions to it. The manual process of creating transactions could not keep up with transactions that involved many currencies, languages and jurisdictions. To bring data of several platforms together into one format, it took a lot of effort to be done manually, thus ineffective.
4. Cost and Time Efficiency The conventional processes were tedious and expensive and this created bottlenecks in the day-to-day processes. Such wastage crippled the potential of the organization to grow in size and its general competitiveness. It was in dire need of a solution that may not only help lower the cost of operation but also had a tremendous effect of lowering the turnaround times.

The company needed a future-looking automation technology that could manage a maximum of complex workflows, be scalable, and, at least, compliant in dealing with these challenges.

The Solution: Automation as a Service

To address all such challenges, the organization adopted a new innovative automation strategy. The company attained the following by using a sophisticated platform which focuses on business requirements such as automation of documents and integration of data.

Automated Global Document Translation

Translating compliance documents in different languages and in different countries was one of the most time consuming activities. The automation platform made possible:

• Global Scalability:The automated system was to fulfill the use of multiple languages translations so that even in the geographically separated compliance documents would always be correct. This scalability enabled the organization operate extended opportunities around the world without interference to further pressure on the resources.
• Regulatory Compliance:The platform conformed to different standards of international compliance, which were automated to fit document layout with local regulations. These processes were standardized and thus helped the organization to greatly decrease the possibility of non-compliance and also enhanced the quality of documents.
• Real-Time Updates:The automation facilitated updates on translated documents in real-time, thus being corrected the moment it was mistaken and shortening time incurred in the rework process. This capability enhanced operation agility and response to changes in the regulations.

Key Results and Business Impact

The outcome of the automation process at Deluxe can tell a lot regarding the power of AI-based automation.

Key Metrics Achieved:

• Speed to-value: 99%: Reduction in time it took to extract and analyze data had gone down to weeks to a few hours.
• 800+ Hours Spared: It substituted manual operations with AI-enhanced workflows, which create some free resources.
• Unified Data Environment: With better accuracy of data, there was a streamlined data governance process and quicker data approval form.

Employee Empowerment

Automating routine duties saw employees empowered to look at more valuable tasks hence:

• Enhanced productivity.
• Higher job satisfaction and low burnouts.

Scalability Throughout the Operations.

The flexibility of the solution, enables Deluxe to continue with automating other essential areas e.g. billing, invoicing and customer onboarding.

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Streamlined eStatement Generation

Another urgent requirement was the generation of eStatements among the global customers. The automation solution that is being offered:

• Seamless Data Integration:The platform was connected to potent data ecosystems, where customer data are gathered and read out of various sources, then translating them into ready eStatements. This automation was essential because it provided the accuracy, up-to-date and structured data according to the expectations of the customers and regulations.
• Customizable Layouts:The flexibility of the system allowed development of customized layouts which were in line with the requirements of individual customers and jurisdictions. This flexibility brought about higher levels of customer satisfaction due to the provision of easy to read and good-looking statements.
• Rapid Deployment:The automated system was also developed and operationalized within a time span shorter than six weeks, unlike the oldercise traditional solutions that either took months to be implemented. This was a fast implementation that reduced the impacts of destruction to the normal operations of the company and provided the organization with instant returns.

Automated eReceipts for Global Transactions

Automation was also expected to enable the company to generate eReceipts when effecting transactions all over the world. The major aspects of the solution were:

• Connection with Data Ecosystems:The system automatically matched receipt layouts to source data by integrating the system with the existing platforms. This removed data entry and errors were removed and faster processing of transactions was achieved.
• Global Accessibility:The automated solution was able to support various currencies and languages and therefore allowed the single process to serve the requirement of various customer sets in different regions. This knowledge only increased the capabilities of the organization with regard to offering uniform service all over the world.
• Increased Customer Experience:Customers were provided with accurate transaction details on time as receipt generation increased in speed. It provided better reliability, which enhanced the customer trust and satisfaction which instilled better reputation about the organization as being excellent.

The Results: Unprecedented Efficiency Gains

The results of the automation project were transformational, and this work brought down a new line of clear operational efficiency to the financial services department:

1. Over 90% Cost and Time Savings The automation of key processes achieved organizational costs of operations attributed to more than 90 percent reduction. Jobs which once necessitated a great amount of manual labour were being fulfilled without hitches and very little man power. This enabled the business to invest more in areas strategic to its business creating innovations and embarking on growth.
2. Faster Document Turnaround The automation platform had decreased the time used in translation of compliance documents to less than two days. This not only made it easier to comply with regulations but ensured that decisions were made faster so that the organization was able to react immediately to the changes in the market.
3. Rapid Implementation The generation solution of the statement took less than six weeks to achieve and was released. This quick deployment demonstrated the agility of the automation platform and reduced the impact of the continued process implementing instant value to the organisation.
4. An Increased Accuracy and Compliance. Automation also eradicated the mistakes that were involved in the manual procedures by doing everything to follow the strict guidelines that the regulatory bodies required so that the same documents, statements, and receipts complied with the tightest regulations. This concern on accuracy led to boosted reliability of the organization and the establishing trust both to the customers and stakeholders.
5. Increased Customer satisfaction. The enabled automation project greatly translated in terms of service delivery times and accuracy leading to improved experience by the customer. It increased the competitive advantage of the organization in a competitive environment with strong needs and realistic ones.

The Broader Implications for Financial Services

The present case study brings out the power of change that can be brought about by automation in financial services. Repetitive and resource intensive tasks are automated by organizations, which gain enormously in terms of efficiency alongside enhancing compliance and customer satisfaction. Key takeaways include:

1. Automation Generates Strategy Value. Automation enables companies to focus their efforts on their enterprise growth and development and on customer requests by eliminating human interventions and using the free resources to achieve progress. This transformation generates a long-term value and competitive point.
2. Improved Technology-based Compliance. Automated systems ease the compliance concern with high chances of not making mistakes and breaking the regulation. This consistency is necessary to have confidence in the financial industry.
3. Customer Experience Is a Competitive Distinguishing Factor. Improved customer satisfaction can be achieved through the provision of fast, correct and individual service which is undeniably better placed organizations in, among competitors within the environment. Automation can help companies achieve these expectations in an efficient manner.

Conclusion: Paving the Way for the Future

This case study highlights the importance of automation as a phenomenon that should create efficiency, precision, and satisfaction to customers of the financial services industry. Through its extensive automation approach, the organization was not only able to realize short-term gains in terms of operations but it was also poised to succeed in the long term.

With the ever-changing financial services sector, automation will remain one of the capabilities of innovation and development. Organizations that adopt this type of technology will stand in a better position to manoeuvre around the intricacies of a highly dynamic environment and create value to customers across the world.