5 Reasons Process Mining is Essential for Banks

Written by Lucas de Boer | 3 min read
Published on: December 11th 2019 - Last modified: February 22nd, 2021
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In the first part of a two-part series focusing on the banking and financial services sector, this post considers the vital role process mining plays in not only supporting current banking operations, but planning for future success as well.

Increased complexity within the banking sector

In the face of continually increasing expectations of speed and convenience from customers, not to mention significant shifts in the social and political environment of which they are a part, it is no wonder financial institutions often look to technological change as an answer.

For the most part, this embrace of technology is concentrated in updating systems and capabilities through automation. Indeed, Chase Bank, one of the largest banks in the world, estimates that around 80% of transactions previously performed by tellers can already be completed through an ATM. The days of knowing your bank manager by name are long gone!

However, we have not quite reached a fully-automated banking experience yet—and even in that case, any organization will still have internal processes that require human intervention and oversight. In other words, automation must be connected with the manual processes that will still need to occur. For banks in particular, understanding exactly how each process works, and interacts with all the others, is vital to ensuring these connections are strong. That is where process mining comes in.

5 reasons process mining is essential for banks

These 5 reasons process mining is essential for banks cover every aspect of banking operations, and can make the difference between embracing the imperative of change, and remaining tethered to outdated technology. In each case, process mining is the key to better outcomes in efficiency and effectiveness.

Enhancing internal and external compliance

Process mining is essential for banks as it can provide a seamless view of any external transaction or internal process from beginning to end, thus enabling management to monitor the way the process unfolds. At any point where a compliance response is required, it can be generated automatically.

This helps ensure banks act in accordance with the regulations they operate under, by speeding up things like reporting suspicious transactions to authorities, and reducing the potential for errors.

Managing organizational and process complexity

Process mining can uncover in-depth, actionable information about the way complex processes actually run, as well as how they interact with other processes within an organization. Using process mining allows banks to view multiple systems within their organization, and multiple processes within those systems, as a cohesive whole.

This overarching vision means banks have the information they need to identify opportunities to refine and/or standardize their processes as needed.

Supporting innovation

Process mining helps banks and financial institutions remove the risk from innovation by offering insights into the way existing processes operate, and highlighting opportunities for optimization. This allows banks to treat “innovation” not as a limited and disruptive event, but as an ongoing transformation of the way they work.

Effectively managing change

When change inevitably occurs, process mining can soften the impact by helping organizations to make better, more transparent, and data-driven decisions. This avoids the perception that decisions are being made for the wrong reasons, or that change is being implemented just for the sake of it.

After any given period of change, process mining can be used as a monitoring system for the changes themselves, assessing the health and effectiveness of any new or updated processes, and correcting any negative aspects.

Exceeding customer expectations

Process mining helps banks understand customer behavior, and connect their processes to predict interactions across future customer journeys. It is the link between the underlying processes within an organization, and how, when, where, and why how customers interact with those processes.

Taking a customer-centric view of business processes, means banks can benefit from customer perspectives (consumers, clients, or other businesses) and change the way they operate to provide truly positive customer experiences.

Next steps

You can find out more about the reasons process mining is essential for banks by visiting our specialized banking page. You can download a complete guide to process mining for financial institutions, and find further insights into the ways banks can get a clear picture of their operations, discover areas of potential improvement and risk, and greatly improve customer service and satisfaction. You can also learn more about process management for banks, and the ways banks can strengthen regulatory compliance with Signavio.

If you’re keen to move past the theory and into action, find out how the powerful, all-in-one SAP Signavio Process Transformation Suite can help banks automate and optimize their business processes, and sign up for your free 30-day trial today.

Published on: December 11th 2019 - Last modified: February 22nd, 2021