Fast image-based cheque clearing system rolled out to banks
The Cheque and Credit Clearing Company has rolled out a new, faster image-based cheque processing system, designed to reduce clearing time from one week to the next working day.
Bhupender Singh, CEO of Intelenet Global Services, commented: “Fintech challengers and tech giants like Amazon have been edging in on traditional banks’ remit, bringing higher competition.
“The pressure from these challengers is not just in front-end flashiness, but also in back-end operational efficiency, which means banks are having to speed up their processes through AI and automation.
“The new cheque clearing system offers banks a golden opportunity to speed up one of their longer processes, to keep pace with customer demand and outside competition.
“This is part of a wider move from banks to invest in innovations that streamline their systems. Through robotic process automation, for example, banks can dramatically cut down the approval period for mortgages; one bank was able to reduce this time from 11 days to 48 hours.
“From clearing cheques to mortgage approvals and cross-border payments, many banking services require a huge amount of manual processing. Not only does AI and automation reduce costs and increase efficiency, but it also helps organisations to future-proof their businesses.”