How Tech is Supporting Financial Institutions

It has been said that our world has undergone 10 years of change in only a few weeks. Businesses have adopted remote work policies nearly over night. Employees are still meeting business goals and embracing the organization’s overall vision. For financial institutions that means providing the best customer service possible. They’re simply doing it from home offices, kitchen nooks and corner alcoves.

Due to several different assistance programs created and economical actions taken by government agencies, financial institutions have seen a massive increase in loan applications across many lending products. Through these increased volumes, companies are discovering significant gaps in the people, processes and technologies they have in place to manage these high volumes, including compliance demands.

To close the gap and meet the increased demand, financial institutions are implementing technology platforms that enable their remote workforce with increased access to information, support ‘no-touch’ customer engagements, and ensure they are meeting compliance expectations. To achieve this level of digitization and increase review and approval speeds for lending processes, companies, more often than not, are adopting cloud-based technology, including content services, file sharing and electronic signatures solutions. Here’s why.

Content services and loan document tracking – in the cloud 

It’s clear that digital transformation is not only key to expediting processes, providing better customer service and staying competitive – it’s an essential technology to enable a remote workforce. Content and communication drive business processes and interactions with customers, partners, suppliers and other external stakeholders. On-premises software deployments can’t properly support remote staff to the extent needed right now and are negatively impacted by the inability to have staff onsite to manage physical infrastructure and troubleshoot issues.

Cloud-based technology applications and platforms have quickly become an essential business strategy, both during a time of social distancing and to support future business needs. Content services in the cloud helps ensure business continuity by providing remote access to critical information. For example, through the use of a loan document tracking solution within a content services platform, lenders have secure access to a complete view of information within a loan application and can accelerate the loan lifecycle with digital workflows routing information to the necessary employees. With digital access to all required information and documents, lenders equip their loan processors with the right information throughout the lending lifecycle, providing higher-level service to applicants and ultimately closing loans faster.

Cloud-based file sharing

Millions of employees are currently working from home to ensure workforce safety. But the scale of remote work needed to support operations creates new challenges for financial institutions, not only for system and information access, but for the collaboration needed among employees and customers. With the increase in loan applications, organizations are in need of a contact-free and secure way to send and retrieve applications with both internal and external parties to process the loans.

Cloud-based file sharing applications are a perfect tool to assist. They keep employees connected, content accessible and processes moving. These systems are secure and scalable, allowing employees to access and act on information, regardless of where they are working. And because these solutions incorporate higher security protocols than sending private information via email, lenders don’t have to worry about the increased risk if that information got in the wrong hands.

Digital signatures

Electronic signatures are the final link to create an end-to-end digital solution. Electronic signatures provide the legal authority needed in financial processes without the cumbersome and time-consuming tasks of printing, mailing and manually validating documents. Essential features within an electronic signatures tool include:

• Secure document distribution, with options for parallel or sequential signing
• Protected delivery via a secure HTTP connection
• Automatic notification for instant and proactive visibility into the status of electronic signatures
• Complete audit history for review or archiving
• Identity verification with knowledge-based authentication

Remote training and managed services

While financial institutions are typically among the first to adopt new and innovative technology – including cloud technology, a content services solution, electronic signatures and file sharing – some may be a little behind on their digital transformation strategies. There may be concerns about implementing this technology now, because they want ensure proper employee training, which may seem difficult with stay-at-home orders. Many enterprise software providers are offering virtual education and training, however, to ensure customers gain the knowledge they need to propel business and support customers.

Some financial institutions have reallocated employees to best support customers and now find themselves needing additional technology support until those employees can go back to traditional roles. Many vendors have stepped up to offer service level programs for things like system administration or on-demand services to augment staff coverage and support critical business needs.

This extraordinary time has urged financial institutions to do extraordinary things, including decisive action on digital transformation goals. Those who have taken action see how cloud-based content services and file-sharing tools fit in the digital transformation puzzle, connecting employees to the critical information they need, when and where they need it. Whether it’s in response to the increase in loan activities or to support default management processes, fraud investigation or and compliance initiatives, these tools will help organizations make a difference in customer lives while still staying competitive in the industry.