Why commercial banks struggle to digitize account opening

Daylight Automation co-founder explains the challenges Commercial banks are focusing on a human-centric approach to relationships that may be holding them back when it comes to digitizing such basic functions as account opening. This more human approach is a challenge, Art Harrison, co-founder and chief growth officer for workflow automation vendor Daylight Automation, tells Bank Automation News in this episode of “The Buzz” podcast.  “A lot of the trust and the relationships at banks, particularly on the commercial side, is still human-centric,” Harrison says. “The differentiation and the value that a lot of these organizations still bring is the expertise and the guidance that they provide to these busy stakeholders.” Fifty-six percent of commercial banking executives say digital account opening is the No. 1 technology issue for business customers over the next five years, according to a recent study by Phoenix-based Catalyst Consulting Group. That report also noted that the difficulties with onboarding commercial clients come down to complex relationships and workflows. This, in turn, has led to barriers in automating key functions like verifying business entities, according to the report. Harrison tells BAN that regulatory requirements like knowing the beneficial ownership structure also bog down efforts to digitize commercial processes.  The Canadian-based company, founded in 2015, works with financial institutions such as BMO, BMO Harris and Manulife Financial, which owns John Hancock Financial in the U.S., to tackle this issue through its low-code solution, he explains.  Daylight Automation has raised $15.9 million over four funding rounds, according to Crunchbase.