SAIB - Branch Automation

Single integrated branch automation platform as an end-to-end solution

SAIB wanted to achieve rapid, large-scale process automation in line with its mission to make banking simple and accessible for each of its customers. The Bank engaged with VeriPark for this critical digital transformation project and implement its VeriBranch Branch Automation Solution which provides a single integrated branch automation platform as an end-to-end solution and simplifies operations in one central simple interface.

We focused on the most common transactions in the customer service area and automated the processes covering account opening, loans and others, said Ramzi Al-Nassar, General Manager Personal Banking, SAIB. We worked on the critical touchpoints that had a significant impact on our business and our long-term goal was to have our customers use digital self-service channels, such as mobile, internet banking and kiosks.

Loan application in 30 minutes, account opening in 20 minutes

The Bank selected the loan and account opening processes as their initial focus domains. What made these areas an excellent target for automation and improvement was the duration of the operations. The loan process used to take about 3 to 4 days for loans. Following the Customer Relationship Management (CRM) implementation and the addition of peripherals to facilitate the entry of data and signature verification, the loan process is now being completed within just 30 minutes.

The customers visiting the branch for teller transactions had to wait in the line and manually sign multiple documents for legal purposes. Now the customer arrives at the counter and receives a one-time password by SMS for the transactions performed by teller. The verification process takes less than 2 minutes and the signature is required only for legal purposes. 

The account opening process too has been substantially streamlined. The customer no longer needs to wait at least 2 days; as the account is opened during the setting-up process right then and there; in addition they receive a made debit card immediately at the branch. By focusing on their Omni-channel strategy, customers can also open a new account online, a process which is automated and only takes 20 minutes to perform. The dramatic improvement on the speed of loan and account opening operations allowed staff to be deployed for activities that are more important to the serving of the customers.

Teller error rate of 0.2%

The branch automation process also resulted in great benefits for employees. “The employees at our branches at the end of banking hours processed transactions by scanning and attaching documents,” explained Al-Nassar. The Bank also used to operate a Central Verification Unit that had to check all documents to validate the accuracy of data. This process is now no longer required. 

VeriBranch, which embeds the Microsoft Dynamics 365 system, provides the tellers with a single application, resulting in a simple and easy-to-follow workflow. The system requires employees to obtain approvals, seek signatures and to fill out the required fields. Automated controls and validations ensure that employees’ input of information is correct.

The automation resulted in an improvement and massive reduction of the human touch-points and judgement for daily activities across the banking value chain, mitigating error rates from 30% to 0.2%. This improvement in error rates continues to decrease as a result of improved workflows and controls as part of their digital transformation.

The VeriBranch CRM functionalities at SAIB also utilize Artificial Intelligence (AI) to make the branch the core of the true Omni-channel experience. All past transactions are automatically pushed to all channels, so the teller and customer service officer has a 360-degree view of the customer’s transactions. This approach helps the Bank to provide enhanced customer service as the Bank representative has access to the customer’s full history and can provide this information to senior managers tracking the customer’s service request.