How Can Wire Automation Help Your Institution?

Automation is not new. This term was first coined around 1946 in the automotive industry “to describe the increased use of automatic devices and controls in mechanized production lines.” It is attributed to D.S. Harder, a Ford Motor Company engineering manager at that time.Even though it is not new, automation in banking was definitely advancing prior to COVID-19; but, the pandemic put it in high gear. One of the areas that specifically saw increases in automation was wire processing. As businesses looked for commerce opportunities across geographic boundaries, several community financial institutions (CFIs) stepped up with wire automation. Here are five reasons to consider wire automation, as you update your wire process and systems.  Faster processing means more fee income. Straight-through processing of payments made it easier for some businesses to keep their doors open. They could manage their cash flow better with immediate payments. Seamless payments are now expected, not just by consumers, but by businesses as well. CFIs that are able to assist their business customers with this option are also able to add fee income to their bottom line. Fewer errors. With the branch closures and limited hours due to the pandemic, automation became more of a necessity than ever. Processing transactions with little or no manual processing allowed CFIs to support businesses with fewer errors in less time. It was especially important to gain efficiencies as CFIs were spending more hours on processing needed PPP funds in the earlier days of the pandemic to keep businesses afloat. More money saved and greater analytics. According to Mineral Tree, an AP and payments automation firm, inefficiencies associated with payments cost companies $550B every year. CFIs will save money as they automate and streamline processes for greater efficiency, but also employees previously needed for manual processing can now engage in higher revenue resulting activities. Automation also gives FIs improved data analytics to measure their ongoing success.Transparent transactions. With automation, comes the ability to see the status of the payment in real-time. You don’t need to rely on another person for this information. Transparency in real-time is what all financial institutions need and what regulators want. This feature gives FIs confidence in their transactions and empowers them to track their transactions, as needed.Open banking partnerships can help. Open banking is a collaborative way to automate your wire processes. Through open banking partnerships, PCBB is providing our customers with more automated services. In our most recent partnership with Fiserv, we are integrating with the WireXchange®: FX platform and expanding our international capabilities to their CFI customers. We will continue to look for partnership opportunities to bring our customers more value through automation, allowing them to grow more efficiently.