Since the early days of the pandemic, we have all had to make tough yet necessary decisions. From how we manage relationships with family and friends, working from home, and even the ways we choose to bank. These types of decisions have embedded themselves into our everyday lives. Whether they are big or small, these decisions also ultimately determine the outlook for our future. And the same is true for businesses.
Many organisations have been forced to think about how their decisions over the past nine months will impact the outlook for their future. Not only what needs to change for the immediate reality but also long-term strategic planning post-pandemic. An example of this can be easily seen when evaluating the future of banking industry.
I recently read a report from Celent that highlighted how the pandemic had impacted most institutions perspective on banking technology strategy. Within the next year, banks will face challenges related to the speed and shape of economic recovery, new customer expectations, and the outlook on hard-hit business sectors that form their commercial customer base. In light of these considerable headwinds, 63% of the FIs surveyed revealed that they expected Covid to remain a significant business issue throughout the upcoming year.
So, how does this impact the future of banking?
If a bank has not already taken steps towards proactively responding to the challenges of Covid-19, it will make the challenges in the upcoming year even more difficult. However, if they can build upon changes that the pandemic has forced upon them, it is likely to drive long-term successes.
Despite the concerns and challenges, nearly two thirds of the FIs surveyed stated their budgets for their branch and ATM channels would remain the same or increase in the next year. This is mainly because branches still remain essential for banks to onboard, retain and build relationships with their customers.
However, the economic impact of this pandemic has accentuated the need for banks to minimise costs and deliver greater efficiency in their branch networks. When Celent surveyed these institutions about their plans surrounding digital banking for next year, 43% of respondents shared that they would be focusing more on cost management and operational efficiency.
Fortunately, through the help of automation, this and more can be achieved.
Automation enables branches to perform time-consuming, tedious processes within a short amount of time. According to Deloitte, in 2018, automation technologies “can allow for a 50% capacity increase in certain processes”. Through deploying automation in their branches, banks have also seen improvements in productivity, greater reports of staff satisfaction, and increases in productivity.
By deploying Glory automated TCR solutions in their branches, clients have experienced: improvements in queue times by 30%, reduced customer waiting times, and increased teller productivity.
Automation will also be seen as a requirement in successfully supporting digital initiatives. Considering the costs that banks accrue for delivering digital banking services, automated technologies can help with minimising cost across their branches. In fact, Celent stated that the most successful financial institutions will combine automation with their long-term digital initiatives.
Undoubtedly, this year introduced challenges for the banking industry but investing in automation should not be one of them. Investing in the right automated back and middle-office solutions can help banks position themselves for long-term success and successfully support their initiatives for the upcoming year.
