Paper usage in the banking industry
Had a few very interesting discussions with banking industry customers from various countries. I had a great event with some of the top Financial Services institutions in South America, and many of them are considering (or have even started switching) to e-Banking. Still, as we have seen earlier, Brazil is one of the paper users whose rate is growing the fastest.
It’s true that many banks are making announcements about being “greener”. HSBC launching is re-planting trees, while Bank of America claims their operational paper usage has gone down by 32% between 2000 and 2005: these are only a few of the many press releases that have been made on the topic.
However, I had a chat yesterday about an Australian bank customer who sees his fax volume actually increasing!
At the other end of the spectrum, a provocative viewpoint on paper usage in banking can be seen at Banking is murder ? The Industry’s Nefarious Quest for Paper-Free Finances. Although disputable, it is not an isolated voice.
So what is wishful thinking and what is reality in “paperless Banking”? Are there strong regional differences? What technologies will make a difference?
I would like to get input from my readers – feel free to comment on this blog post to bring your own viewpoint.
I think the future is paperless! And I personally think if documents can ride on the electronic wave and not be needed in print then we could be witnessing a radical shift in the document management industry!
I’m sure plenty of people said the same thing when the Paperless office was introduced in the 70’s!
More seriously if you’ve been reading my blog I agree with you – it’s just a question of timing. Paper will phase out of many usages, but this will take time. Read my Less Paper Office White Paper for more details.
I’m not quite as optimistic about the ability of the Banking industry to go paperless in the next decade. While there is a strong desire to by the industry, the very nature of their distributed business processes (loan processing for example) has institutionalized paper. As a supplier of paper capture solutions, we see banking as one of our fastest growing sectors. Some paper inevitably comes up in otherwise electronic processes. Loan processing is a great example; items such as employment verification, letters of credit, even proof of citizenship are ALL paper-based. This paper of course, needs to be digitized (scanned) to be included in the electronic business process.
Another factor here in the United States, has been the slow adoption of electronic signatures. Important documents still need to be printed and signed. For electronic records retention they also need to be scanned.
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