The coronavirus pandemic has placed news stresses and demands upon the financial services sector, with companies supporting hard-hit partners and clients at the same time as making internal adjustments to survive a vastly changed working environment.
Given those new challenges, financial services firms are in the vanguard of efforts to switch to digital documents processes, both to provide a positive customer experience as well as a better employee experience. And analysts say this foundational step will contribute to increasing digital maturity across the industry.
Research shows that 72 percent of companies in this sector consider e-signatures crucial to ensure business continuity and agility, with firms planning to increase their spending on digitizing document processes by nearly 60 percent in the next year.
While companies report that digital document processes have enabled them to overcome the lack of direct contact with customers, more than one-third of firms say the technology has also enabled them to pursue new opportunities and customers.
Financial services companies say the benefits are measurable, with 37 percent saying customers with concerns about the pandemic are happier using digital technology for their transactions, while 40 percent report improved employee productivity.
The shift to digitization is not without its risks, however, with analysts pointing to the need to manage changes within the organization, additional training requirements and regulatory and compliance concerns.
Without an e-signature, you’re not properly addressed.
- Financial services customers expect more fully digital processes. These include enabling important paperwork, such as mortgage applications, to be executed and signed online.
- Financial services companies with minimal digital document process solutions have more business risk than firms that have adopted digital alternatives.
- Digitizing document processes has put financial services firms in a stronger position to take advantage of opportunities.
- Remote working is here to stay, with digitizing document services a key way of enhancing employee collaboration and keeping businesses moving.
- When digital document processes become core to an organization’s day-to-day operations, business resilience is enhanced.