Digital onboarding and eKYC is the only way forward

Owing to the current Covid19 crisis, physical and social distancing is expected to become the new way of life, at least for the next couple of years. Customers are rapidly moving online to access critical business services, and financial institutions are increasingly looking at digital solutions which can help them engage with customers and maintain business continuity.

Although digital onboarding has been on the board’s agenda for a while, the current pandemic situation has made them realise its true potential in allowing them to conduct their business a lot more efficiently.

Infrasoft Technologies recently conducted a webinar on “Digital Customer Onboarding & KYC – is this the new norm?” hosted by UK Finance, to understand whether Digital Customer Onboarding and eKYC has become the new normal and how the current crisis has impacted Financial Institutions. The poll results indicated that:

• 74% were facing the challenges with authentication and ID verification.
• 75% were looking for digital onboarding solution through a cloud-based service.
• 46% were looking for a vendor with a proven workflow-based solution.

These findings suggest that the current pandemic has triggered a mindset shift and prompted discussions on the critical need for a digital onboarding process within the organisation. Onboarding is the first step in building a relationship with the customer. If not done right, it could lead to poor user experience and failed client acquisitions. The lengthy application process and visits to the branch to open an account has compelled customers to move to institutions which help avoid the hassle and instead offer an improved client experience with digital tools.

How has eCO developed to simplify the digital onboarding journey?

In response to market sentiments and the need for a simple and secure remote onboarding solution, Infrasoft Technologies has developed a solution from the ground-up to help financial institutions, not only to design their own customer journey but to also enable them to onboard new customers within a few minutes instead of weeks.

eCO replaces the slow, repetitive, and complicated onboarding process with simple, easy, and quick digital onboarding steps. AI-driven secure digital identification and authentication technology enables identity checks, liveliness detection, facial comparison and biometric deduplication allowing customers to prove who they claim to be easily whilst creating a tough barrier for fraudsters to breakthrough.

The UK government has also been supportive of the creation, verification, and maintenance of digital identities through GOV.UK Verify, allowing customers to authenticate who they claim they are. This provides the highest level of assurance to institutions to avoid fraud due to stolen or synthetic identities. Digital document submission, RPA-led extraction of data into application fields and verification through OCR scanning and AML filtering allows institutions to complete and legitimize KYC/KYB checks in seconds.

e-Signature capabilities enable the customer to enter into legally binding agreements and conclude the onboarding process, without stepping into the branch, replacing complex document signing process with a streamlined process and reliable audit trail. This has been especially important in the case of trusts, Intermediaries, and wealth management clients.

In summary, digital onboarding and CDD checks have been a key discussion topic for a long time. The current pandemic has made it even more imperative for financial institutions to consider digital onboarding solutions and ensure faster access to banking services in order to avoid losing potential new customers. A quick, smooth and easy onboarding process is essential for businesses looking to be on the winning side of digitisation. As the early adopters paint their success stories, digital onboarding is now looked upon as a new norm rather than a disruptor.

At Infrasoft Technologies, we believe in empowering financial institutions in designing the best-suited onboarding journey for a host of customers: Retail, Corporate and Commercial. To find out how to accelerate your digital onboarding journey, you can request a demo or can contact us on sales@infrasofttech.com.

The Digital Customer Onboarding & KYC – is this the new norm?” webinar is now available on our website. To access the recording, click here.