The way customers interact with their bank is changing - from in-person communication at a brick-and-mortar location to a digital-first, omni-channel experience. Mobile check deposit, payment gateways, and app-based banking in general have changed customer expectations, and in turn, they have driven the need for continued innovation from the financial services sector. At the same time, digital transformation has heavily impacted the ways in which banks improve internal processes, enhance relationships with clients, address data security, and ultimately, provide value to their customer base.

Further – not all customers want the same things from their banks in 2017. Older customers seek simplicity – a straightforward experience that provides financial peace of mind, whether their transactions are handled digitally, in-person, or with a combination of service delivery types. While younger customers such as millennials look for drastically different offerings – peer-to-peer payments, robo-advisory platforms, digital wallets, budgeting tools, and more. Such offerings have typically been dominated by FinTech disruptors, which if not successfully countered by more traditional banks – could lead FinTechs to capture an increasing market share of younger customers as they continue to expand into new product offering categories.

Whatever the underlying motivations may be – FinTech disruption, vastly different customer demands, or a combination – banks must address their digital readiness gap and adapt to this new landscape of the distributed “unbundling” of banking services, driven by the increasing demands of customers of all ages, and the FinTech upstarts themselves.

In response, banks are shifting from a largely product-centric viewpoint, to a more customer-centric model. Satisfying the distinct, and different sets of desires for each customer segment requires becoming a truly customer-centric bank, which in turn demands a full embrace of digital transformation. Necessitating updates in business processes, IT architecture, culture, and overall operating models.

While digital transformation is becoming more commonplace with larger financial institutions, it can increasingly be a barrier to entry, or a distinct competitive challenge for smaller, regional financial organizations with smaller IT and marketing budgets. To keep up with competition without overextending resources, or losing focus on core competencies, this type of organization may turn to a technology partner to industrialize their FinTech solutions and extend these offerings to their customers.

But regardless of the size of your organization, here are three concrete ways that digital transformation helps create sustainable, long term success by creating a human-centered model of operations.

1. Digital transformation of back-end processes and automation of workflow processes can modernize and drive the front-end user experience

Customers want seamless, easy-to-use banking experiences, regardless of channels – mobile, online, or even in-person. Whether the experience is related to depositing checks, exploring services, opening an account, checking balances, getting loans, managing wealth, or customer communications/support, effectiveness across channels has become crucial. If you can’t offer your clients these services in a safe, secure, and convenient manner – they may well take their business elsewhere. So, how does digital transformation help banks create and serve these experiences to their clients?

Implementing an effective, multi-channel data ingestion and integration platform can aid with actions like mobile check depositing. Highly-targeted and personalized communication platforms can help drive upselling, cross-selling, and accurate segmenting of audiences for marketing. At the same time, optimizing business processes through a highly configurable management interface enables the creation of bank-specific document or case management workflow, and can streamline operations for employees on the back end.

Other key digital trends for banks include mobile payments, services on multiple device types, automated account origination, the previously-mentioned personalized marketing and promotional offers, and customized customer administration tools. A purposeful digital transformation effort can aid with all these initiatives.

Ultimately, business transformation aided by process automation, digitization, and complete accountability can lead to improved customer experience and enhanced business performance. But, another connected consequence of these digital transformation trends is that they are altering the roles of bank branches, and the jobs of branch personnel. Which leads us to our next point.

2. Digital Transformation Frees Human Capital from Traditional Branch Banking Processes

As the way customers interact with their bank transforms, the way that financial institutions manage their branches is changing in-step. At the branch level, for instance, banks are retraining employees in new proficiencies, repurposing and evolving their focus from being reactive in terms of customer service, to becoming tech-enabled client advisors and counselors – creating additional value for customer and institution alike in the process.

Armed with tablets and powerful digital banking applications, these client-focused bankers can guide customers as they navigate digital banking choices and services, while simultaneously administering new accounts, and handling security or background checks as well. Customer data collected by these employees, or through other bank/client interactions, can help banks provide more personalized digital experiences, as customers look for the exact combination of banking products that will fit their unique needs.

In the end, whatever approach your organization decides to take, digital transformation provides a revolutionary opportunity to allow traditional banking service models to be reimagined, providing a more effective model for customer service as traditional offerings like check depositing become almost wholly digitized.

3. Digital Transformation Can Help Create Powerful Customer Loyalty & Brand Equity for Banks

Consumers have come to expect the same convenience and customer service levels from their bank as they expect from Amazon. Best class experience is best class, across industries. The reality is that, with fewer in-person interactions at branches, delivering consistently positive customer experiences is a key challenge to solve. There is no way to greet a customer with a warm smile and a handshake when they are simply logging into an app, or remotely depositing a check. Positive experiences powered by digital offerings is crucial.

That best-class experience can be created by leveraging customer data for targeted outreach of only the most relevant offers for each customer, and by customizable payment processing offerings to deliver more personalized experiences. Above all, what can create positively perceived digital financial service experiences are those which can be smoothly embedded in the customer’s lifestyle, such as mobile check deposit. With a customer-centric culture and digitally transformed processes to support all these efforts, the brand image, and customer loyalty of a given bank can be bolstered.

To conclude, while the trend toward digital transformation in banking is not exactly new, some banks, particularly smaller, regionally-focused organizations have historically been more reserved in undertaking these efforts because of the costs that can be involved, siloed operations between branches and other business units, and security concerns. But now, digital transformation has become a business imperative due to evolving customer preferences. 

To accelerate your digital transformation, learn more about our Payment Technologies and Services. 

Exela Technologies is committed to the future of this planet. As a global leader in digital transformation, we’re uniquely positioned to put that commitment into action through our solutions and services as well as through how we run our business

Our solutions and services

Exela’s solutions and services help our customers become less reliant on paper, which means becoming less reliant on everything associated with manufacturing, using, and disposing of paper. Learn more about the “paper problem” here. Paper reliance also tethers employees to the office, whereas working remotely supports sustainability by reducing fuel consumption and lengthening the useful life of office furniture, fixtures, and facilities. Recent stats from one of our larger customers demonstrate Exela’s Smart Office suite of solutions has reduced the customer’s paper usage by half, and our offsite print centers move printing to locations where waste is minimized and efficiency is maximized. Currently, Exela provides sustainability-supporting solutions to more than 4,000 customers around the world, and every day we reach more and more.

How we run our own business

Exela’s Workplace Program encourages our 22,000 employees to:

• Print only as needed
• Reuse paper
• Recycle and use office products made of recyclable materials
• Safely dispose of electronic waste
• Commit to a green commute and telecommuting when possible

Our partnerships with third party sustainability initiatives also set an environmentally responsible tone among our employees and the community. One example is our partnership with Bare Hands, a non-profit organization that fights deforestation by planting trees and gardens. On May 19, we worked hand-in-hand with Bare Hands to turn urban space in Atlanta, Georgia into sustainable, edible greenspace. We also raised funds to support the Bare Hands mission. Between our Sustainable Workplace Program and our philanthropic initiatives, Exela aims to foster in our 22,000 employees a sense of individual accountability and a feeling of accomplishment with regard to environmental stability.

“Customers will never love a company until the employees love it first,” business visionary Simon Sinek Tweeted in 2014, and for a moment there, a hush fell over the “business Twitter” community. With all due respect to Sinek, it’s not as if this was anything everyone didn’t already know. However, for many, this truism brought up a disquieting question: How? How, exactly, does a company engender engagement, let alone, positivity, among its employees?

Exela’s President, Suresh Yannamani, recently spoke about how company culture can and should be shaped (assuming you care about long-term success, which we assume you do). “Whatever the age of your company, your culture emanates from the top — so leadership must take steps to mold it,” Suresh writes. Here are some of the steps he has found particularly useful in his decades of experience:

Start off with a celebratory/welcome meal

“When a new employee starts, take them out to dinner,” Suresh suggests. “I’ve found this helps to unify the working group and make every new team member feel valued,” especially when senior managers or C-suite members are able to participate. That one meal is, in the big picture, a very small gesture, but Suresh has found it has a large impact. “It can really send a positive message about each employee’s value, regardless of rank.”

Cultivate a management style that’s accessible

Some employees do a good job because that’s just “how they do.” Some are less about the intrinsic rewards and more about recognition. It’s important for leaders to recognize this, and it’s good practice to recognize good work, as opposed to regarding it as “part of the job.” Let’s assume for the moment you’re in a management position, and one of your reports knocks it out of the park with regard to a particular project. How do you feel? Happy? Proud? Let your employee know, Suresh suggests. Validation is a big deal, and it’s not to be underestimated.

Engage employees by joining together to engage with the community

People feel good when they do good. So it stands to reason employees will feel good about a company that encourages them to do good. That’s how we roll at Exela. “At my company, we don’t just work together — we run together,” Suresh says, referring to the many charity races in which the company participates in various locales each year. It’s a great way to “build camaraderie outside of the office and do some good in the process.”

Of course, companies looking to execute a successful charitable program such as #ExelaGivesBack should be aware it’s a bit of a balancing act. “Fun” can’t be forced. Nor can giving. “Ideally, the company covers the costs,” Suresh explains.

“Show us your X”

Well, that’s how we do it here at Exela. Chances are, once you onboard at Exela, it’s not long before you're first introduced to the “sign of the X”-- forearms held out in front of the body in the shape of an “X.” Whenever there’s a photo opportunity at Exela, it’s an opportunity to “show us your X.” “These images help reinforce our united mentality and bring our diverse global teams together as a unified whole,” notes Suresh. It engenders a feeling of “we’re in this together,” not unlike that feeling you get when you see a stranger wearing a hat with your team’s or your school’s name on it. “Anything that contributes to a feeling of pride and privilege to be part of the team can work,” Suresh adds, as long as it feels natural and isn’t “forced.”

Is getting employees to feel the company love a challenge? Of course. Is it even more challenging when you’re a global company with employees from wildly different backgrounds scattered throughout the world? Obviously. That’s how it is with Exela. However, as Suresh concludes, “by having some fun outside of work, giving back to our communities together, and reinforcing our unity as a global family, we’re able to build a culture that works for us. Doing the same in your organization will go a long way toward creating valuable connections and inspiring unity.”

Payments are a fundamental part of business – from the local mom-and-pop shop all the way up to global enterprises. So, technology changes occurring in the payments industry tend to have a big impact. And make no mistake, changes are coming. Check out the latest edition of PluggedIN: The Future of Payments for a look at some of the biggest trends in payments technology, including:

• The Past, Present, and Future of Payments
• Request to Pay: Payment Meets Communication
• The Rise of Real-Time Payments
• Integrating and Automating: From Procurement to Payment

PluggedIN is Exela's thought leadership publication, providing fresh insights from the cutting edge every quarter. Subscribe to get plugged in.

Get PluggedIN Now

Back in 2015, Toni Dugal, who had previously been with Xerox and HP, was named vice president of solution services by Exela’s predecessor company, Novitex. Her charge was to oversee the growth of our Managed Print Service business. In the course of her work, which involved, among other things, collaborating with Six Sigma consultants, services and support teams, and directly with customers, Toni found herself in a position to pay close attention to inbound and outbound communications occurring through a variety of channels, not the least of which was the mailroom, and over time, she came to be integral to Exela’s Smart Office initiatives, including Digital Mailroom. Busy as that makes her, she was kind enough to take a few minutes to chat with us while on a recent trip to the Stamford headquarters, home of, among other things, Exela’s Corporate Marketing team (everyone is waving “hello” right now).

Here’s what we learned:

Us:

Toni, can you tell us what you now do and how you came to be doing it?

Toni:

I advocate for Exela's customers and capture revenue for Exela by leading the Strategic Opportunity team to increase the quality of our deliverables; expand and accelerate the annual contract value of opportunities; and improving the associated processes. I have a deep background in building new offerings and organizations that expanded my understanding of solutions, delivery and operations, customer satisfaction, finance, and contract negotiations.

Us:

What are you currently working on that excites you?

Toni:

Leading an effort to establish operational standards to be used during our solution-ing process for Exela location solutions. Having these standards will improve our ability to respond to customers quickly with a compelling price.  This is expanded work from the standards the legacy solutions team had completed many years ago that improved our solutions execution.

Us:

So...how do you define innovation?

Toni:

Customers define it for you.  If it's aligned with their strategic objectives; different than what they are doing today; and provides unique value to them - it's innovation.

Us:

How about #FiveWordsAboutYou?

Toni:

Since I just had my top five strengths identified for me via Gallup’s “Strengthfinder” tool, I’ll go with those:

• Strategic
• Learner
• Ideation
• Command
• Significance

Us:

Tell us something most people would be most surprised to learn about Toni Dugal?

Toni:

I used to be ranked 10th in the world in Cowboy Fast Draw.

Us:

Well, we’re officially blown away.

Toni:

(polite chuckle)

Us:

(remembering there’s a reason puns really aren’t all that funny)

So….anyway….we’ve heard you’re a big reader! What’s your favorite book?

Toni:

Illusions by Richard Bach

Us:

Favorite film?

Toni:

A Star is Born

Us:

Favorite superhero?

Toni:

Wonder Woman

Us:

Can you tell us what you wanted to be when you were a kid?

Toni:

Either a lawyer or a horse trainer.

Us:

Anything else you want to say - a favorite quote, a motivational mantra, etc.?

Toni:

“DWYSYWD”

Us:

...which means…?

Toni:

“Do What You Say You Will Do.”

Would it be bad if we were to take this moment to observe that Toni Dugal is clearly a straight-shooter? Sorry, we can’t help ourselves. We hope you enjoyed meeting Toni, and we look forward to introducing more of #TeamExela to you here in the Exela Blog.

Yesterday, as I was walking my rescue hound, Lucille Ball (newly adopted, thanks to COVID-19’s having made me a homebody for who knows how long), a woman walking her own dog paused to allow the pups to greet one another.

“It’s so hard being quarantined,” she remarked from six feet away.

“Wait, you’re quarantined?” I demanded as I hastily backed away.

“Well, like everyone…you know. Right?” She was looking at me, kind of puzzled.

“You mean ‘social distancing’?”

Yeah, I’m that person. The one who corrects you if you say “quarantine” when you mean “social distancing” ... not to be unpleasant, but because the way I see it, saying “quarantine” when you mean “social distancing” is like saying “aircraft carrier” when you mean “kayak”. And now that “COVID-19” has gone from an “outbreak” to an “epidemic” to a “pandemic,” with “confirmed cases” steadily inching toward 100,000, it’s a near certainty that when talking about the illness caused by the novel “coronavirus,” you’re going to fumble your terms, at least some of the time.

Or is it? Obnoxiously word-fixated people like me aside, there’s something to be said for knowing your coronavirus terminology, even if it’s just to make sense of the daily news updates. So, here is a glossary of terms to help you make sense of the inevitable daily information overload:

Coronavirus: One of the viruses in the family of viruses that has a spiky “crown”-like appearance under a microscope. These range in severity from the common cold to the far more deadly SARS (see definition) and MERS (see definition) viruses.

MERS: Short for Middle East Respiratory Syndrome, a highly contagious virus that was first seen and reported in Saudi Arabia during 2012

SARS: Short for Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome (SARS), a viral respiratory illness caused by a coronavirus, and which was first seen and reported in February 2003, at which time a global outbreak occurred. It was subsequently contained.

SARS-CoV-2: Another abbreviation for COVID-19. It refers to the fact that COVID-19 is a SARS illness caused by a coronavirus.

COVID-19: The World Health Organization gave this name to the illness caused by the new coronavirus that first appeared in China in late 2019. It’s short for "coronavirus disease 2019.”

Outbreak: A sudden increase in diagnoses of a particular illness.

Pandemic: An "outbreak" affecting large populations or a whole region, country, or continent (as compared to an "epidemic," which affects a particular community).

Contagious: An adjective meaning “capable of spreading an illness.” The issue with COVID-19 is the length of time during which people are “contagious,” which might be for as long as 14 days from the time they are first infected with it. See “Incubation Period” below).

Incubation Period: The incubation period is the time between exposure to an illness and actually showing symptoms. People exposed to COVID-19 can take up to 14 days to show symptoms. This long incubation period is one reason COVID-19 has spread so effectively.

Containment: This refers to the effort to limit the spread of illness. Some illnesses have been contained via vaccination, but COVID-19 has no vaccination or treatment as of yet. Therefore, “containment” is accomplished via "social distancing," “isolation,” and “quarantine” (see definitions below)

Close Contact: Being with 6 feet of another person such that a “droplet” from one person could land on the other person or something the other person is wearing or holding.

Droplet: A particle of moisture from the respiratory system. Droplets expelled by someone infected with COVID-19 can spread the COVID-19 virus to another person if that second person touches the droplet and introduces it into their own respiratory system (by touching their eyes, lips, or nose).

Airborne Transmission: This is also accomplished via droplet, but a much smaller droplet - one that is small enough to be imperceptible in the air. Most COVID-19 cases are not transmitted this way.

Confirmed Case: A person who tests positive for COVID-19 via a CDC-approved lab.

Presumptive Positive Test Result: A positive test for COVID-19 that was performed by a local or state health laboratory. Presumptive becomes “confirmed” when testing is conducted in a CDC-approved lab.

Curve: A graphic representation of the number of new cases of a disease over a given period of time. The more cases in that period of time, the steeper the curve, and the greater the burden on the healthcare system.

Face Mask: Loose-fitting paper or cloth masks that form a physical barrier between the wearer and other people, with the purpose being to prevent the wearer from spreading germs when they sneeze or cough. They also can remind the wearer not touch their face.

Respirator: For COVID-19 purposes, a respirator is not a machine to help one breathe a type of face mask that doesn’t just act as a barrier but also filters out virus particles before they can be inhaled.

N95 respirator: A respirator that filters out 95% of virus particles. This is the gold standard or healthcare workers and are in short supply now.

Ventilator: A machine that moves air in and out of the lungs in the case that a patient cannot, or is having trouble breathing on their own. Unfortunately, this happens all too often in COVID-19 cases.

Quarantine: The separation of someone who has been diagnosed with an illness, has symptoms of the illness, or has reason to believe they were exposed to the illness, from other people. The duration of a quarantine is guided by the incubation period for the particular illness. Quarantine can be imposed on a person or self-administered.

Social Distancing: Is the practice of maintaining enough distance between yourself and another person to reduce the risk of breathing in droplets that are produced when an infected person coughs or sneezes. In a community, social distancing measures may include limiting or cancelling large gatherings of people.

Shelter-in-place: Finding a safe location and staying there while the crisis continues.

Lockdown: When you see this word, please know it is not an official, technical, or legal word. Rather it’s just a word people use to a non-technical word that people use to refer to any kind of public health measures being taken to prevent the virus spreading.

Spanish Flu: You're likely, at least at some point, to hear COVID-19 compared to, and contrasted with Spanish Flu. Active between April of 1918 and December 1920, this flu, which most likely originated in China but that got its name from the nation that, at least initially, put out the most media coverage of the outbreak (this was a function of wartime politics). The scary thing is that 100 million people died worldwide. The good news is we are so much better equipped to practice social distancing one than we were back in 1918. See, for example. Exela’s Digital Mailroom allows an office to function even without a mailroom or other support staff.

State-of-emergency: Declaring a state of emergency gives government officials the authority to take extra measures to protect the public, such as suspending regulations or reallocating funds to mitigate the spread of a disease.

CDC: Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (the U.S.'s health protection agency and a leading reliable source for COVID-19 updates for the U.S.).

WHO: The World Health Organization, which is an agency of the United Nations responsible for international public health.

Here at the Exela Blog, we strive to bring you only the most reliable, accurate, news that is relevant to you. Stay tuned for more COVID-19 content, including more about how to make remote working work for your company, which COVID-19 “offers” are really just scams, and best practices for remaining uninfected.

It’s been an auspicious several weeks for #TeamExela. Not only have we made it one more time around the sun (as of July 12), but we’ve also been:

• Building out our website so that it tells a fuller and more colorful story of who we are and what we do, 
• Reflecting on how far we’ve come in the decades during which we’ve been operating mission-critical processes for our clients (which has now risen past 4,000 and includes over 60% of the Fortune® 100) as well as how far we’ve come in the since our predecessor-companies joined together to become one of the largest global providers of business process automation and enterprise information management solutions. 
• Engaging in community outreach initiatives across the globe as we launch #ExelaGivesBack. [and entering the planning stages of our biggest philanthropic outreach program yet, which I’ve promised not to talk about just yet, but do stay tuned…
• Coming up with a brand new Mission, Values, and Culture Statement that we believe accurately reflects who we are, what we do for our customers, and how we aim to do it.

As our CEO, Ron Cogburn noted in a statement addressed to Exela’s 22,000 employees, “Our brand has evolved, and we have a better sense of who we are and of the tremendous value we can provide our customers.”

“I’m proud Exela Technologies has completed its sophomore year,” Ron told me over the phone today.

“Got any plans to celebrate?” I asked.

“Just listening to some Timbuk 3,” he replied. With a knowing wink, I’m sure.

The future does look bright, at least from where I’m sitting, and I look forward to bringing you more blogs in the future that delve into our wide variety of business process automation solutions and how they’ve already been advancing our customers along in their digital transformation journeys.

What do you see for the future of Intelligent Lockers?

The future for our Intelligent locker systems is limitless. It is a natural fit with our Digital Mailroom and Shipping & Receiving solutions. As we learn more about the opportunities, we understand the impact we can make on the industry, coupling our client’s unique needs with our ability to customize the solution very quickly. I believe this gives us a huge competitive advantage over other smart locker vendors.

How do Intelligent Lockers help now? Are there any differentiation factors?

Our lockers make the mailrooms we support, and client mailrooms more efficient. With an Intelligent Locker system installed, deliveries are far more efficient and the ultimate recipient of the package, or mail, can retrieve their package at their convenience. No longer is someone being hunted down, or locked to their desk waiting for an urgent delivery. Our lockers are filling needs in support of multiple RFPs, plus fulfilling client needs in multiple facilities across the US. We have also received quotes for opportunities in EMEA, and look forward to establishing this solution there. Owning the technology and Intellectual Property, that goes along with it, truly differentiates Exela.

Why would you recommend Intelligent Lockers to others?

First and foremost, when you deal with Exela, that immediately provides our clients with flexibility. Customized solutions fulfilling our client’s needs, whether they be hardware or software are the norm when dealing with Exela.

Learn more from Exela:

Join us for Exela’s People Behind Our Technology series, a new initiative that highlights both our Subject Matter Experts (SMEs) and proprietary technology solutions. Our SMEs answer a series of questions that help provide insight into the present and future of Exela’s suite of solutions, leveraging their hands-on experience to demonstrate value. Stay tuned for more, and continue to visit the Exela website to see the full list of our People Behind Our Technology Q&A blogs.

Every day, more than 130 people in the United States die as a result of opioid overdose. The enormous human cost is just the beginning, however.[1] The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention estimate the total "economic burden" of prescription opioid misuse in the U.S. to be around $78.5 billion a year, taking into account the costs of healthcare, addiction treatment, loss of work, and the involvement of the criminal justice system. “The opioid crisis is one of the largest and most complex public health tragedies that our nation has ever faced," FDA Commissioner, Mark Gottlieb, noted in a press release earlier this year, and overcoming it will require “innovation.” [2]

Just to be clear, Gottlieb is referring to technological innovation, including information management solution such as data unification and data analytics. The hope is that these solution swill identify social and clinical trends that may be contributing to the opioid crisis. “Waiting for the accumulation of definitive evidence of harm left us a step behind a crisis that was evolving quickly, and sometimes furtively, in vulnerable communities that were too often being tragically ignored,” Gottlieb explained.

Specifically, the FDA has plans to roll out an information management plan that leverages the sort of data unification and centralization technologies described here to facilitate data analytics designed to identify vulnerabilities to opioid misuse that may be lurking within the healthcare system and within community cohorts. Funded by a $20 million grant, the plan anticipates the creation of a large-scale data warehouse to facilitate data analytics, including predictive analytics and machine learning, to:

• Assess geographic and demographic vulnerabilities
• Identify trends contributing to those vulnerabilities and the epidemic at large
• Target regulatory changes to address the vulnerabilities.

The innovations the FDA plans to deploy are in addition to innovations states and federal agencies have been bringing to bear in recent years, including the use of PDMPs (sometimes called PMPs), which stands for Prescription Drug Monitoring Programs. PDMPs collect and house information about controlled substances, to whom they were dispensed, how much, and by whom. Securely stored and accessed using circumscribed credentials, can be a powerful tool for doctors and pharmacists in identifying people who may be abusing opioids, whether intentionally or as a result of medical mismanagement or mistake.[3] For example, a 2010 study found that the use of PDMP data in an emergency room context affects opioid prescribing behavior by providers in 41% of patients, with 61% of those representing a provider choice to not prescribe, or prescribe less of, the opiate than the provider had planned.[4]

Data management is just one of the ways technology is healing what ails the healthcare industry. For more information, check Exela’s game-changing solutions for healthcare providers and solutions for healthcare payers.

[1]https://www.drugabuse.gov/drugs-abuse/opioids/opioid-overdose-crisis

[2]https://www.fda.gov/news-events/press-announcements/statement-fda-commissioner-scott-gottlieb-md-agencys-2019-policy-and-regulatory-agenda-continued

[3]https://www.iwpharmacy.com/blog/what-is-the-pdmp

[4]https://www.ncjrs.gov/pdffiles1/ondcp/pdmp.pdf

Now that Brexit’s deadline has come and gone, there’s a new deadline on which U.K. banks are focusing. By March 31, 2020, all must implement processes complying with “Confirmation of Payee,” a regulation put into place by the U.K. payments authority, Pay.UK, that is intended to fight payment fraud in the context of real-time payments by giving bank customers assurance their payments are directed to their intended recipient. Essentially, Confirmation of Payee (CoP) automates payee-verification before a payment goes through in real-time.

A number of large U.K. banks have already adopted CoP. Others still lag behind, which might seem surprising considering the pounds equivalent of more than $430 million was lost to payment fraud in 2018 alone. But the deadline looms, and Exela is prepared to assist its global banking customers with its own CoP solution, which leverages the Open Banking Directory and artificial intelligence to exchange CoP requests and work toward validating destination and account holders. Exela’s solution, which debuted at Finovate Europe 2019, is part of its highly-regarded Banking and Financial Services Suite and is expected to work as an important step in the process of combatting payment fraud.

In a recent article for B2C, Exela’s Senior Vice President, Business Strategy and Sales, David Jones, reviewed the imminent need for CoP in the U.K. and the how Exela’s solution works in a way that will be transparent to bank customers (except in those instances when a mismatch is identified). Jones also notes that due to Exela’s flexible deployment model, the service can be delivered to banks at a relatively low cost.

“We are excited about the expansion of our global banking solution with the launch of Exela CoP,” notes Vitalie Robu President EMEA, Exela Technologies. “Our team will continue to explore new technology-enabled solutions to improve the lives of our customers, and work with global financial institutions to automate their business processes.”