NCBA Bank is investing in Robotics Process Automation to enhance business productivity

NCBA Bank Robotics Process Automation: Robotics Process Automation (RPA) has emerged as one of the leading and most accessible automation solutions serving multiple business niches. In fact, a report by Dellote noted that 1. 85% of very large and large enterprises had implemented RPA by 2022.

The report further notes that the global RPA market was valued at $5.63 billion in 2023 and is expected to reach $54.57 billion by 2032 at a yearly growth rate of 28.7%.

Be it through taking over manual tasks, boosting productivity, or reducing error rates, RPA and other forms of automation can benefit organizations in many ways.

The primary reason for the growth of Robotics Process Automation (RPA) in the banking sector on the global platform is that it has enabled significant automation, thus lowering operational costs. Banks and other financial organizations are leveraging RPA to automate routine, tedious tasks like data clerical work, account transactions and generation of compliance reports among others, thus increasing efficiency. 

In Kenya NCBA Bank is one of the local financial institutions that has massively invested in RPA through a project dubbed Project ZERO.  

In 2020, the bank brought in a team of RPA developers to help design, develop and implement innovative RPA solutions that can enhance business productivity and maximize efficiency. 

The team was also involved in understanding the business and its challenges, functionally outlining a solution to the identified use cases and then developing the required solutions. 

The bank says in its Integrated Report of 2023 that after the implementation, RPA has helped it achieve an average increase of 70% in the value of time gained and a 33% reduction in TAT. 

‘’In our efforts to optimize cost efficiency, scalability and control within operations, we successfully completed the rollout of Project ZERO, achieving innovative, automated operations with negligible human interventions,’’ it says.

‘’As a result, we have achieved an average increase of 70% in value of time gained and a 33% reduction in TAT from robotics process automation (RPA).’’ the report further reads.

NCBA says in the report that it is geared to address the changing preferences of both corporate and retail customers and is adopting automated self-service applications and integrating emerging technologies. 

‘’We have deployed automated bots to enhance the efficiency and effectiveness of risk management, reporting, and financial crime detection,‘’ it says.

Through the implementation of RPA, the bank has automated 44 key processes, resulting in a remarkable saving of 91,000 man-hours

This is a major win for NCBA Group which is ranked the fourth-largest banking group in Kenya, with a 7% market share in system loans and a 9% share in deposits through its main operating subsidiary, NCBA Bank. 

Increasing adoption of cognitive automation and artificial intelligence in RPA to manage complex tasks and decision-making operations in the coming years will see the bank continue to invest in RPA. Other factors include the need for hybrid solutions, combining RPA with advanced technologies like artificial intelligence, machine learning, and blockchain. 

Industry trends show an increasing focus on cloud-based RPA solutions that boast of high scalability, flexibility, and cost-effectiveness. 

‘’As NCBA, our digital transformation initiatives significantly enhanced our operational efficiency, cost reduction, and customer experience in 2023. ‘’ the bank concludes in the report.

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