BPM, Automation Is Changing the Credit and Finance Industry

Business Process Management is the term that has been adopted to identify the discipline of operations management. It uses specific methods to discover, model, analyze, improve and automate business processes and procedures. Any combination of methods used to more efficiently manage a company’s business procedures falls under the BPM category. Most recently, the influence of BPM has been seen in the development of artificial intelligence solutions specific to the financial industry.

Some of the largest banks and credit unions in the U.S. have announced they are investing millions of dollars into updating their systems and capabilities through automation. The finance industry has been one where the automation of processes usually performed manually by individual employees was thought of as a nearly impossible task. Yet financial institutions have been at the forefront of technology and automating as many manual procedures as possible. New technology in this area has allowed automation to replace various teller positions. Now, other organizations are asking what they can do to replicate the same success.

In 2017, Chase Bank automated most of its teller-related procedures and eliminated more than 25% of its employee expenses. It is estimated that approximately 60% of transactions performed by tellers can be executed simply through the ATM, and that number is expected to be over 90% by the end of 2018, according to representatives from Chase. Although these changes have increased efficiencies for credit unions nationwide, it’s important to consider the systematic approach behind automation that allows the technology itself to function and exist – a Process Management System.

In a recent report produced by Business Process Trends, 43% of U.S. business respondents reported they are most interested in automating their business processes. While implementing a BPM system allows for the automation of most processes, it still does not provide detailed insight into cross-system/cross-people processes. For example, BPM touches all areas of the finance industry. During the ATM process, a consumer can deposit cash and checks; then the ATM communicates the transaction to the banking facility. The consumer can login to their smartphone application and receive a status update almost immediately. While all of these internal processes are performed through an automation of some kind, rarely are they performed in a single system. The application of BPM provides financial institutions with a seamless view of the transaction from beginning to end. This end-to-end view enables management to avoid sub-optimization and more easily manage and optimize their ongoing operations around the consumer.

Not only can BPM be applied to help with daily processes at the procedural level, it can also be used to manage all aspects of internal monitoring, which is especially relevant when dealing with compliance issues. Any credit union utilizing a process management system in support of its BPM initiative can monitor progress as well as see itself from an overview perspective. Therefore, the credit union is more equipped to identify competitive advantages, establish internal processes and deliver results. It can identify metrics as well as ROI by standardizing and simplifying procedure workflows.

The application of BPM is often considered a critical component of the credit and finance industry, not just due to its end-to-end visibility, but also due to its support of meaningful operational intelligence. Process management systems that deliver real-time, actionable information are now readily available. Because the size and complexity of daily tasks can be too much for one system to run, BPM enables organizations to view systems as though they were running seamlessly as a single unit. The discipline of BPM and the use of a process management system can bridge the gap between information technology and business. There is no doubt that automation will play a growing role in business processes in the marketplace for years to come.

In the future, credit unions and other financial institutions will continue to look for ways to automate even more of their processes. It’s important to understand not just how automation happens but to connect it with the manual processes that will still occur. An effective process management system touches all facets of the organization and the technology working behind the scenes. With the right process management solution powering your BPM discipline, consumers will have a better overall experience with your brand.

Mark Holenstein is COO for Signavio. He can be reached at info@signavio.com.