According to a study by Software Testing and Big Data Hadoop, 10-20% of human work hours are spent on repetitive computer tasks. To be even more specific, IT departments spend 30% of their time on low-level basic tasks. This means that a lot of time that is currently spent on these tasks can easily be saved by automation.
This is where RPA(Robotic Process Automation) comes in. If artificial intelligence is the brain of a system, RPA is its limbs. RPA allows for low-level tasks to be automated; creating efficient processes, consequently saving time and costs. The RPA industry is teeming with potential. Statista believes that the RPA industry will be valued at $3.1 billion by the end of 2019 and at a whopping $4.9 billion by 2020.
Why Banks Are Gravitating Towards RPA
Of late, the banking and finance industry has been quick to adapt to cutting-edge technology. This is especially true with RPA where banks can see the cost savings almost immediately. For a simple RPA project, breakeven can be reached in as little as three months. Even for more complex projects, breakeven is reached within a year. Plus, RPA can be applied to a variety of tasks from document review and mortgage approval to credit card orders, cost accounting, and accounts' cleansing in the banking sector. Fraud detection is a department that is already utilizing automation for quick identification of scams and fraudulent transactions.
Benefits of RPA in the Banking Industry
Cost Saving
Most banks generate cost savings between 20-60%, while others report a cost savings of 80% by integrating RPA. In fact, the Bank of NY Mellon Corp. has rolled out more than 200 bots to handle tasks such as transferring funds and its fund transfer bot alone has saved the bank more than $300,000.
Greater Efficiency and Better Service
Most processes chosen for RPA don't require any analysis or discretion. Given the repetitive nature of these processes, implementing RPA can bring accuracy levels up to 100%. Reducing human error to zero is simply not possible, no matter how well you train employees. Therefore, RPA actually leads to a massive jump in efficiency and service levels.
Increased Capacity
Most processes become much faster with RPA. Typically, processes become anywhere between 2 to 5 times faster than before. A great example of this is the use of RPA in invoice processing. As processes become faster, banks can process a higher volume of transactions, massively increasing productivity.
RPA is still in the early stages of adoption. Over time, RPA is expected to result in end-to-end automation of repetitive processes in banks. Of course, it's important for banks to first re-engineer existing processes and make them more efficient before they implement RPA.
