The Challenges the Financial Industry Faces When Going Paperless

Going paperless in the financial sector has been huge goal, but it’s been a tough road.

Basware stated in a report that one of the biggest challenges that remains is employees’ reliance on paper-based processes, but despite that, 78 percent of those surveyed said invoice automation was their top priority.

The implementation of paperless document management

FIS Global discussed the goals document management providers have for the office, including looking to electronic document imaging for better organization of files and improved speed and reliability when searching for them.

Banks are attempting to become fully paperless entities by utilizing document management software, and have been somewhat successful so far with 33 percent converting up to 25 percent of their documents.

These statistics could be better, however. Basware mentioned the challenges the financial industry is facing, with 65 percent of its invoices still being received in paper format.

How is this still happening, despite the interest banks have in creating a paperless environment?

The challenges companies are facing 

Basware recommended companies build on a tactical base of productivity and process improvement, which is a strong strategy that employees can follow. Increasing invoice automation in a company can be difficult if there isn’t a concrete process that workers can respect.

Any change is difficult for an office, and implementing electronic document imaging is no different. FIS Global highlighted ingrained business processes as the main challenge that bars banks from becoming paperless, with 76 percent of surveyed businesses citing this as a factor.

Streamlining these processes has become necessary, as enterprises are always looking to reduce costs and increase efficiency. Invoice automation is an implementation that successfully establishes both.

When an office has a goal for invoice automation, it drives employees to look for better tools for their organization as a whole and can make for a better workplace with that extra drive and creativity.

The progress expected 

Businesses that implement these technologies expect huge savings. According to FIS Global, paper reduction expenses cost about $500,000 or less, and getting rid of employees’ dependence on it can save just as much money.

In the report, 84 percent strongly believed the savings to be approximately that.

Companies should do their research to figure out which processes are barring them from becoming paperless and work on encouraging employees to change their ways with hard-copy documents.

Paperless processes can be a huge money – saver in a business, and it’s worth encouraging their implementation.