Do your customers send documentation to you? Perhaps as part of your onboarding process where you need to see a proof of identity and residence, or check individuals for anti-money laundering purposes. How many times do clients send documents to you that are incorrect, outdated or do not meet the necessary criteria?
One Bank highlighted that 40% of all in-bound documents that were needed to support a mortgage application process, were wrong. This included the wrong document type, out of date documents, and/or poor quality of the photocopy*.
An insurer stated that just to send out an email to ask for the correct document to be resubmitted was costing them £25.00*.
The cost of getting it wrong soon adds up.
Despite the pandemic accelerating the move to digital, there are some circumstances where documentary evidence must be submitted as a key part of a transaction – the opening of a new account, a loan application, or conveyancing transaction, for example. The move to digital combined with the restrictions on movement and office closures due to the pandemic, means that documents traditionally shown in person or sent via the post, now need to be sent digitally.
When most consumers do not have access to a printer and document scanner at home, how can this transition be made accessible to the majority of clients?
Moreover, how do you make sure that you receive the correct documents first time?
Fortunately, most people now have access to Smartphones that are equipped with image capture technologies (that are equal or even higher quality than many scanners) and web browsers.
Using the latest automation technologies from Kofax, an electronic document can be uploaded, through a standard Web Brower interface, and the document can be validated in near real-time without the need to install a mobile application. If the wrong document is presented, or the data is out of date, the consumer can be informed immediately – not one/two weeks later. This ensures that every document presented as part of a process is correct. In addition, where a customer submits an image of an Identity Document such as a driving license or passport, intelligent automation technology has the capability to undertake detailed forensics to confirm that the document is real, that it corresponds with the customer, and perform background checks with third party agencies.
Validating documents in real-time at the outset of the customer process not only reduces costs but ensures a compliant and consistent process and places the responsibility for document validation and checks on the organisation rather than individual case handlers.
Example documents still needed for different key processes include:
- Proof of address
- Change of address
- Change of status
- Proof of Employment and Earnings
- Proof of Insurance No Claims Discounts
- Copy of Marriage certificate
- Copy of Probate and Death certificate
- Right to Work documents…
The list goes on and on
The ability to submit documents via smartphone provides a more efficient process for the customer and makes digital services more accessible to consumers. This, combined with remote validation, reduces processing time for the organisation and avoids the cost and delays associated with receiving the wrong documents electronically or through the mail. As a result, organisations adopting technologies and processes such as this, become far more appealing to do business with as the customer experience is dramatically improved.
If you would like to learn more about digital processes, and how tools such as remote validation can create an efficient and seamless experience for your customers, please contact us. We are happy to discuss examples and demonstrate the benefits gained through digitisation and automation.
* Source: Article – Kofax ‘Remote First – Remote Validate’ – Published June 2020
