CIO, Australia: Cognizant’s Australia Head of Business Process Services Says Robotics is Pushing Banking Towards a New Self-Service Era

“A few years ago, robotics, a branch of Artificial Intelligence (AI), was seen as an upcoming trend that figured all too often in predictions made by business leaders and was presented as a revolutionary technology that would invade all aspects of our world,” writes Stephen Lewis. “By 2016, not only have these predictions come true for many aspects of our personal lives, but robotics and automation have also entered the business world.” Excerpts:

“Banks, in particular, are starting to use robotics and automation tools to address new challenges created by their move into the digital age. Customer service management will be one of the most impacted areas of banking due to the evolution of robotics.

The writing is on the wall ― banks need to address digitization head-on to ensure they are meeting customers’ expectations in a sustainable manner.

Millennials have high expectations and demands from businesses, and favor a certain level of empowerment when it comes to servicing their needs. Today’s consumers are also increasingly open to the idea of conducting complex tasks, such as managing their investments, using robot-advisors instead of in-person advisors. They want autonomy.

Robotics can help banks automate routine and repetitive processes ― currently performed by large middle and back office teams ― that don’t need physical human intervention. It can also enable banks to complete these tasks faster and without human error, while helping better orientate customers who do require more complex issues to be resolved effectively with manual intervention.

Low cost Robotics Process Automation technologies can form the glue between the digital front-end and legacy systems, enabling a more seamless and digitized customer experience.

The benefits brought by robotics and automation technologies go far beyond just helping banks cut costs. Robotics will reduce human dependence, eliminate errors, and speed up processing times, leading to better accuracy and reliability and improved customer experience.

While there are certainly things robots cannot do, there is a clear opportunity for banks to use emerging technologies to drive more personal, effective, and cost-efficient customer service. By allocating repetitive, low-value tasks to robots, banks can then allocate staff to higher value activities and roles, and enable the organization to focus on growth, innovation and how to optimize use of other new technologies.”

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