How Robotic Process Automation-as-a-Service Improves Performance During COVID-19

impact consumer spending for the foreseeable future. At this rate, experts have signaled that a turnaround of the U.S. economy will not begin until around mid-2021 at the earliest.

While the current economic state appears bleak, asset-based lenders have opportunities to expand their client base now and in the near future. The industries impacted most by this pandemic are the industries for which asset-based lending is ideal: service, wholesale, distribution and manufacturing.

Enter Robotic Process Automation Adoption

A recent Cognizant study of 302 financial executives indicated that nearly 90% feel that automation is important or critical to their business now and in the future.1 According to Forrester Research, enterprises can expect to receive two to four full-time equivalents returned per robot for high-volume, low-complexity tasks, and 2.5 full-time equivalents for more complex, lower-volume tasks.2 For asset-based lenders, RPA can be applied across the loan lifecycle to reduce the need for human intervention, accelerate processing and reduce operational costs. However, for all the benefits RPA offers, financial institutions (including asset-based lenders) who choose to implement RPA independently continue to experience stalled or failed implementations.

The Value of RPA-as-a-Service

The software-as-a-service, or SaaS, model has become a popular method of technology consumption in recent years. SaaS is ideal because it allows companies to reap the benefits of technology while avoiding all the complications associated with development and maintenance. HPA, A Cognizant company, is one of only a few providers applying the concept of SaaS in the RPA space. HPA specializes in RPA-as-a-Service, coupling RPA technology with more than 10 years of expert implementation to drive faster, more stable implementations, as well as greater program success for its clients. HPA’s unique, fully managed RPA-as-a-Service model can be especially attractive for asset-based lenders seeking the convenience of SaaS technology consumption and the reduced risk of a professionally-managed automation program.

There are significant opportunities for automation across the loan lifecycle, from origination to performance and default servicing. For example, RPA-as-a-Service can significantly improve regulatory compliance and reporting in addition to client onboarding. Reporting regulations, such as the KYC regulations, impose an excessive number of requirements that asset-based lenders and other financial institutions must fulfill before entering and maintaining a business relationship with a borrower. These requirements are largely repetitive and labor-intensive, and automation of the associated tasks will be considerably less expensive and error-prone and faster than what can be attained with human workers. Other loan processes that are excellent candidates for RPA-as-a-Service are initial loan booking, borrowing base certificate intake and workflow routing.

For HPA’s lending clients, automation has yielded an average cost savings of 86% and accelerated the loan cycle, which has allowed such financial institutions and their clients to be more competitive in the marketplace. In the face of increased demand and rapidly changing environments during the COVID-19 pandemic and beyond, it is vital that asset-based lenders capitalize on the benefits that RPA-based services provide. •

1. “Forrester’s Automation Framework.” Forrester. Research. 2019.

– By Avery Fisher (Venture Leader, HPA, A Cognizant Company) and Steven Connor (Partner, Waller Law)