By Adam Field, Senior Vice President of Technology Strategy and Experience at Kofax

Banks and other financial institutions were most certainly not immune to the pandemic, and the aftermath is still playing out. Government stimulus efforts kept borrowers afloat but also left many institutions with excess cash. Customers shifted almost exclusively to digital banking options, as most physical branches reduced hours and in-person services.

Now, financial organisations are playing a major role in the economic recovery, and the ride has been rocky as variants of the COVID-19 virus caused temporary spikes in infection rates. As control over the virus remains tenuous, new challenges like supply chain issues and the Great Resignation are stepping in, reminding banks and other financial institutions the future still remains uncertain.

While 2021 begins to wind down and organisations set their sights on 2022, what can financial companies do to take a more proactive approach and ensure smoother sailing? Part of the answer lies in technology—specifically intelligent automation and artificial intelligence.

Check out this list of five ways these powerful technologies can help banks and other financial organisations set a course for success next year.

1. Automation Drives Organisational Convergence. As automation technology has converged, so too will business functions. An intelligent automation platform combines several technologies that create ripple effects throughout financial organisations. Different business functions can now be merged, and companies are rethinking who owns what. They’re reorganising formerly siloed functions under one automation office headed by a single person to cut down on bureaucracy and improve business speed.

From an individual standpoint, the lines between skill sets will become even more blurred. We’ve finally hit the point where low-code technologies have caught up with the marketing hype, and many technologies in general have become ubiquitous. It’s no longer about being on the business side or the technology side—everyone’s a developer now. Congrats!

Financial institutions have a lot to gain thanks to low-code automation. An easy-to-use platform empowers business line managers and other citizen developers to accelerate automation of key workflows such as mortgage approvals and loan processing. A frictionless customer experience is now a requirement for success, so the ability to speed up transformation efforts is a must.

2. AI Goes Mainstream for Next-Level Automation. Banks and financial institutions will achieve next-level automation in 2022 with the power of embedded artificial intelligence and its advanced decision-making abilities. AI-powered process automation can make pragmatic decisions that used to require human intervention.

Mobile ID verification and facial recognition technology enable customers to upload documents and a selfie in a snap while keeping fraudulent activity at bay. An intelligent automation platform powered by AI can also keep pace with ever-changing regulations like Know Your Customer (KYC) and Anti-Money Laundering (AML) requirements. When tasks like these are automated, human workers can move beyond transactional decisions and further along the spectrum of judgment on high-value work.

The prevalence of embedded AI will also accelerate time-to-value. Financial organisations no longer need to go outside their platform to tack on AI—it’s already there. Integration allows organisations to focus on how technology solves business problems instead of on the technology itself. The built-in nature of AI—and its ability to get better and faster the more data it sees—accelerates how fast banks can achieve value.

3. Employee Experience (EX) Will Be the New Buzz Phrase. Every year delivers a series of catchphrases. While the customer experience will still be a priority, in 2022 and beyond, the employee experience (EX) will be the focus of all the buzz—courtesy of another catchphrase—the Great Resignation. Companies across all industries are short-staffed, and no one’s been spared. In fact, four out of five financial institutions are worried about staffing. It’s no surprise many banks and financial firms are offering increased wages, paid time off and flexible working options.

But it’s going to take more than that to attract and retain top talent in 2022, where it’ll be all about the EX. Intelligent automation addresses one of the main drivers behind the Great Resignation—a lack of meaning and purpose in work. Automation removes the mundane, repetitive tasks human workers simply won’t take anymore, enabling them to actually make a difference.

Executives and managers are already showing a strong interest in automating routine tasks, with a recent study discovering 83 percent of business leaders identified bank statement processing as a high priority for workflow automation. As financial leaders carry through on these plans, automation will enable human workers to focus on more meaningful work, engaging with customers, contributing to performance targets and building strategies for future success.

4. Blockchain—Not Just for Pixelated Monkeys. The current most noteworthy use of blockchain technology is cryptocurrency and Bitcoin. Cash has been another casualty of the pandemic, no longer considered king by many. There was a 57 percent drop in cash usage in response to the pandemic, and as people rely on other forms of payment (including cryptocurrencies), financial institutions need to step up their offerings when it comes to digital payments and services.

2021 also saw the explosion of nonfungible tokens (NFTs) where people spent absurd dollar amounts in an attempt to corner the market on pixelated GIFs created by unknown artists. However, the acceleration of distributed ledgers and blockchains is upon us for things more than cryptocurrency and pixelated monkey GIFs.

There are promising far-reaching use cases, particularly for financial companies. For example, blockchain technology will make it possible to send payments much faster than traditional bank transfers, and the method is secure and costs less. The tech can also be used for buying and selling stocks and other assets … and the list goes on. These are applications financial institutions should go bananas over!

5. See You at the Mixed Reality Coffee Lounge. Mixed reality technologies will continue to become smaller and more affordable, providing greater collaboration in a hybrid work environment. We dipped our toes in the virtual reality (VR) waters when the pandemic hit, but VR events were awkward and uncomfortable. Only the early adopters really seemed on board.

Not so in 2022! Get ready to plunge into the VR pool. Our avatars will be the ones working overtime, participating in true VR-style collaboration, as well as training and learning modules. Sounds a lot better than getting caught on a Zoom call underdressed, right? Now, if only there was an autopilot mode … maybe in 2023.

2020 was marked by rough waters, and the seas didn’t calm much in 2021 either. Financial organisations in search of placid waters in 2022 can bank on intelligent automation and AI to transform workflows, business processes and experiences, making companies more resilient, regardless of the conditions.

By Adam Field, Senior Vice President of Technology Strategy and Experience at Kofax

Banks and other financial institutions were most certainly not immune to the pandemic, and the aftermath is still playing out. Government stimulus efforts kept borrowers afloat but also left many institutions with excess cash. Customers shifted almost exclusively to digital banking options, as most physical branches reduced hours and in-person services.

Now, financial organisations are playing a major role in the economic recovery, and the ride has been rocky as variants of the COVID-19 virus caused temporary spikes in infection rates. As control over the virus remains tenuous, new challenges like supply chain issues and the Great Resignation are stepping in, reminding banks and other financial institutions the future still remains uncertain.

While 2021 begins to wind down and organisations set their sights on 2022, what can financial companies do to take a more proactive approach and ensure smoother sailing? Part of the answer lies in technology—specifically intelligent automation and artificial intelligence.

Check out this list of five ways these powerful technologies can help banks and other financial organisations set a course for success next year.

1. Automation Drives Organisational Convergence. As automation technology has converged, so too will business functions. An intelligent automation platform combines several technologies that create ripple effects throughout financial organisations. Different business functions can now be merged, and companies are rethinking who owns what. They’re reorganising formerly siloed functions under one automation office headed by a single person to cut down on bureaucracy and improve business speed.

From an individual standpoint, the lines between skill sets will become even more blurred. We’ve finally hit the point where low-code technologies have caught up with the marketing hype, and many technologies in general have become ubiquitous. It’s no longer about being on the business side or the technology side—everyone’s a developer now. Congrats!

Financial institutions have a lot to gain thanks to low-code automation. An easy-to-use platform empowers business line managers and other citizen developers to accelerate automation of key workflows such as mortgage approvals and loan processing. A frictionless customer experience is now a requirement for success, so the ability to speed up transformation efforts is a must.

2. AI Goes Mainstream for Next-Level Automation. Banks and financial institutions will achieve next-level automation in 2022 with the power of embedded artificial intelligence and its advanced decision-making abilities. AI-powered process automation can make pragmatic decisions that used to require human intervention.

Mobile ID verification and facial recognition technology enable customers to upload documents and a selfie in a snap while keeping fraudulent activity at bay. An intelligent automation platform powered by AI can also keep pace with ever-changing regulations like Know Your Customer (KYC) and Anti-Money Laundering (AML) requirements. When tasks like these are automated, human workers can move beyond transactional decisions and further along the spectrum of judgment on high-value work.

The prevalence of embedded AI will also accelerate time-to-value. Financial organisations no longer need to go outside their platform to tack on AI—it’s already there. Integration allows organisations to focus on how technology solves business problems instead of on the technology itself. The built-in nature of AI—and its ability to get better and faster the more data it sees—accelerates how fast banks can achieve value.

3. Employee Experience (EX) Will Be the New Buzz Phrase. Every year delivers a series of catchphrases. While the customer experience will still be a priority, in 2022 and beyond, the employee experience (EX) will be the focus of all the buzz—courtesy of another catchphrase—the Great Resignation. Companies across all industries are short-staffed, and no one’s been spared. In fact, four out of five financial institutions are worried about staffing. It’s no surprise many banks and financial firms are offering increased wages, paid time off and flexible working options.

But it’s going to take more than that to attract and retain top talent in 2022, where it’ll be all about the EX. Intelligent automation addresses one of the main drivers behind the Great Resignation—a lack of meaning and purpose in work. Automation removes the mundane, repetitive tasks human workers simply won’t take anymore, enabling them to actually make a difference.

Executives and managers are already showing a strong interest in automating routine tasks, with a recent study discovering 83 percent of business leaders identified bank statement processing as a high priority for workflow automation. As financial leaders carry through on these plans, automation will enable human workers to focus on more meaningful work, engaging with customers, contributing to performance targets and building strategies for future success.

4. Blockchain—Not Just for Pixelated Monkeys. The current most noteworthy use of blockchain technology is cryptocurrency and Bitcoin. Cash has been another casualty of the pandemic, no longer considered king by many. There was a 57 percent drop in cash usage in response to the pandemic, and as people rely on other forms of payment (including cryptocurrencies), financial institutions need to step up their offerings when it comes to digital payments and services.

2021 also saw the explosion of nonfungible tokens (NFTs) where people spent absurd dollar amounts in an attempt to corner the market on pixelated GIFs created by unknown artists. However, the acceleration of distributed ledgers and blockchains is upon us for things more than cryptocurrency and pixelated monkey GIFs.

There are promising far-reaching use cases, particularly for financial companies. For example, blockchain technology will make it possible to send payments much faster than traditional bank transfers, and the method is secure and costs less. The tech can also be used for buying and selling stocks and other assets … and the list goes on. These are applications financial institutions should go bananas over!

5. See You at the Mixed Reality Coffee Lounge. Mixed reality technologies will continue to become smaller and more affordable, providing greater collaboration in a hybrid work environment. We dipped our toes in the virtual reality (VR) waters when the pandemic hit, but VR events were awkward and uncomfortable. Only the early adopters really seemed on board.

Not so in 2022! Get ready to plunge into the VR pool. Our avatars will be the ones working overtime, participating in true VR-style collaboration, as well as training and learning modules. Sounds a lot better than getting caught on a Zoom call underdressed, right? Now, if only there was an autopilot mode … maybe in 2023.

2020 was marked by rough waters, and the seas didn’t calm much in 2021 either. Financial organisations in search of placid waters in 2022 can bank on intelligent automation and AI to transform workflows, business processes and experiences, making companies more resilient, regardless of the conditions.