RPA to transform banking operations

Clover Infotech is a comprehensive IT services and solutions provider that digitally transforms business operations, enhances customer engagement and augments operational efficiency for its customers all over the world. It serves more than 150 customers ranging from Fortune 500 companies to emerging start-ups. The clientele also includes India’s leading banks and insurance companies.

Here, Neelesh Kripalani, senior VP and head, Center of Excellence (CoE) at Clover Infotech, tells us more. Excerpts:

DQ: What are the core banking functions where RPA can be implemented to transform operations?

Neelesh Kripalani: The banking industry is increasingly adopting robotic process automation (RPA) to increase efficiency and drive RoI. Implementation of RPA in BFSI market is growing at a CAGR of 31.3% from 2019 to 2025. However, RPA shouldn’t be treated as a magic wand that can fix broken processes. The key to successful RPA in banking is scaled process standardization.

RPA has the ability to digitize the front-end, business critical and back-office processes of banks. The front-end is client facing, sales, trading and customer service. Business critical processes are lending – commercial and customer, loan processing, underwriting. The back office operations are settlements, clearances, record maintenance, regulatory compliance, accounting, and IT services.

DQ: How does RPA drive new revenue opportunities for banks?

Neelesh Kripalani: There are processes in banks that have been incorporated to drive revenue such as servicing loans, calculating interests, processing deposits and withdrawals, and customer relationship management activities. RPA automates rule-based and redundant tasks, thereby driving revenue opportunities by reducing workloads, costs, and the time taken for completion of manual tasks.

DQ: What are the benefits of digitally transforming banking system?

Neelesh Kripalani: There is a correlation between a bank’s revenue and its digital strategies. An EY report suggests that the more mature a bank’s digital strategy is, the more revenue it is likely to generate. RPA has proven to digitize the manual tasks in core banking functions while increasing operational agility. Automation’s prevalence is rising in the financial services industry, especially when paired with AI.

RPA, combined with AI, has revolutionized the banking industry by enabling banks to complete back-end tasks more accurately and efficiently without completely re-organizing existing operating systems.

DQ: What are the RPA implementation services provided by Clover Infotech?

Neelesh Kripalani: RPA implementation services are dependent on two key factors. Our understanding of the customer’s operational processes and further discussions to create a comprehensive automation plan. We can implement RPA across sectors and enterprise types.

We are agnostic in terms of platforms as well and can work seamlessly across UiPath, Automation Edge, Kryon etc. to name a few.

DQ: How RPA is enhancing the efficiency of human workers?

Neelesh Kripalani: By taking care of rule-based and repetitive tasks, RPA allows employees to move onto more analytical and intellectually stimulating work. However, the benefits of RPA are not restricted to employees alone. They extend well beyond to various departments in the organization as well as the customers.

RPA enables employees to have more time at their disposal for analysis of process efficiencies and gives them an opportunity to further enhance these processes. This enables them to directly contribute to the organizational growth.

DQ: Which verticals/sectors will get most affected by the RPA adoption?

Neelesh Kripalani: Instead of affected, I would like to say that all process-intensive industries will benefit from RPA adoption.

DQ: What is the impact of RPA and AI on the jobs market?

Neelesh Kripalani: I think it will create new roles in the areas of data analysis and process analysis, operations management etc. While certain repetitive tasks may get automated, it will enhance the need for supervision, administration of RPA tools, data analysis and process improvement management.

It will also enable employees to upgrade to more tactical and analytical roles wherein they are likely to contribute directly and impactfully towards driving revenues and growth for the organization.

Neelesh Kripalani, Senior Vice President and Head, Center of Excellence (CoE) at Clover Infotech