4 Ways Automation Can Revolutionize the FinTech Document Lifecycle

 

FinTech companies may be on the cutting edge of software innovation, but even their most sophisticated applications need the ability to accommodate a variety of document-heavy processes used in the financial services industry. That’s why 94 percent of them leverage some form of digital document management solution, whether it’s one they built in-house (43 percent) or a platform developed by a third party provider (51 percent). By using these tools and other integrations to implement document automation across their business, FinTechs can revolutionize the way they manage the document lifecycle.

What is the Document Lifecycle?

Document lifecycle refers to the many stages a document goes through as it moves through an organization’s processes. The lifecycle usually begins with the document’s creation or entry into a system, where it’s then reviewed, has its information extracted, and then routed to a database for storage. From there, it can be retrieved and distributed until it’s finally deleted, marking the end of its lifecycle.

For FinTech organizations that prioritize efficiency and speed, automation technology allows them to streamline their document lifecycle management and eliminate tedious manual processes that make it hard for them to adapt to rapidly changing market conditions. This greatly enhances their ability to scale operations and deliver a better overall customer experience. 

4 Revolutionary Document Automation Benefits

1. Faster Data Capture

When documents and forms are submitted through a FinTech application, their information needs to be gathered and transferred to a separate system of record. In most cases, this system is a database of some sort. Once information is deposited there, it can be readily accessed by other systems whenever it’s needed. Document automation technology can deploy capabilities like optical character recognition (OCR) to read and extract text from submitted documents and forms. 

Relying on manual processes to capture data is both slow and inefficient. Human employees are limited by how many keystrokes they can enter each hour, and that’s even before considering how fatigue and distraction could impact their performance. Rather than reviewing information by hand and laboriously keying it into the database manually, FinTechs can collect more data from more places faster and put it to use right away by using automated data capture. Loan decisions, for instance, can be processed much more quickly when customers don’t have to wait for their application to be entered into the system manually.

2. Reduced Errors

Any process that’s completed manually is highly prone to human error. Even the most highly trained and experienced professionals can make mistakes when entering data into a computer system. While some errors are little more than minor inconveniences, others can lead to serious problems over time. An empirical study from 2015, for instance, found that 28 percent of participants committed at least one error during data entry, many of which could distort future data analysis. Errors can also be made when creating documents, leading to unnecessary rounds of revisions and costly delays.

By automating data capture and document generation, FinTech applications can eliminate keystroke errors and other mistakes related to fatigue, inattention, and inexperience. This translates into more accurate datasets, fewer document revisions, and less time spent tracking down and remediating errors.

3. Streamlined Contract Management

As financial organizations, FinTechs need to manage a lot of contracts. For each one, they must gather information about the parties involved, determine what language needs to go into the contract, draft the actual document, and then send it out for review and signatures. Managing that process can be a challenge without the right automation tools in place. Whether it’s a copy and paste error, a clause being left out of a contract, or a missing signature, there are many problems that could slow down the process when it’s being done manually.

Document automation technology can streamline contract management by assembling documents programmatically and routing them for review and signature. Rather than tasking someone with building a contract from scratch, software can simply be pointed in the direction of a searchable database to plug the correct information into a contract’s fields. This allows organizations to generate and share contracts much faster and minimize the amount of revisions needed due to typographical errors.

4. Increased Visibility

For an organization that relies heavily upon manual processes, submitting or requesting a document can feel like casting something into a deep, dark hole. That’s because documents can easily be lost or overlooked when they’re being passed around by email and reviewed by hand. It’s hard to know exactly who is responsible for taking the next action or what steps have already been completed. Document automation platforms use a workflow structure to enhance visibility and efficiency, ensuring that nothing gets lost in the shuffle.

Search capabilities that can quickly locate documents or text also help to improve visibility within a document management system. Rather than laboriously pouring through folder after folder in search of the right document, FinTech teams can save time and avoid frustration while also keeping projects on track. Better visibility also means less confusion, which helps improve version control. Since it’s easier to identify which document someone should be working on, they’re less likely to create or distribute alternate versions that may not be fully updated.

Expanding Document Automation with Accusoft Integrations

With more than 30 years of experience working with digital documents, Accusoft provides a broad range of document automation solutions that can help FinTechs improve efficiency, reduce errors, and deliver a better overall user experience. Whether you need to extract data from structured forms, view and convert multiple file types, or build a dedicated workflow solution from scratch, our collection of SDKs, APIs, and cloud solutions make it easy for FinTechs to incorporate the functionality they need without having to rethink their tech stack.

To learn more about how Accusoft integrations can revolutionize the way you manage the document lifecycle, talk to one of our solutions experts today.