Standard Chartered is working on technologies that helps the bank launch 100% digital branches, creating deeper connect with customers
ZUZAR TINWALLA
STANDARD CHARTERED BANK
We are interested in artificial intelligence which can go out into a database, haul and interpret documents and then use it for practical purposes by understanding the meaning. More importantly, the context and the intent of a conversation so that the robot can apply insights and information in a practical way and even learn from experience.
As the push to go increasingly digital and do more with the available resources intensifies, there is a need for institutions to empower their managers through technology. In the last few years, Standard Chartered Bank has been spending a lot of time piloting and rolling out advanced technologies like robotics which, enabled by artificial intelligence and machine learning, is proving to be the game changer to bring about unique operational efficiencies.
“Scalable robotics solutions, running on top of our existing IT infrastructure, have helped us standardise our process workflow and achieve notable improvements in terms of speed, accuracy and productivity,” says Zuzar Tinwalla, CIO, Standard Chartered Bank India.
The bank is now exploring the use of AI-enabled chatbots to answer queries by mimicking human-like interaction. This is coupled with examining cognitive systems which can interact with natural language to answer questions.
In 2016, Standard Chartered launched its first Electronic Banking Centre (EBC), a 100 per cent digital branch which was conceptualised and implemented in a span of three months. The EBC is completely unmanned and the applications and components are designed to be intuitive so that they can be self-operated by the customer. “The bank is extremely focused about driving the digital transformation agenda and hence, we have launched an internal campaign on automation and digitisation aimed at inculcating a culture of transformation within the organisation, from the top to the grass root level,” shares Tinwalla.
However, digital transformation is still a challenging task as Tinwalla feels for digital transformation to be truly influential, it is extremely important to be socially savvy. High social intelligence is extremely important to influence key business stakeholders, attract and motivate talent and drive your vision and leadership. Other than having a prowess in complex technologies, it is important to be adept at effectively navigating and negotiating through complex social relationships and environments.
“Let us face it. Most employees only think of IT when their laptops stop working,” explains Tinwalla, adding, “Other than fixes and new equipment, IT does not last long on an employee's radar. This is the reason why, for complete digital transformation, it is extremely important to instill a culture of digital innovation across the enterprise where everyone is aware of how technology and innovation is impacting them.”
The initiatives are already paying off. Digital transformation has enabled Standard Chartered Bank to process additional volumes and has reduced the Turn Around Time (TAT) for its clients while providing a more seamless process. Advanced Data Analytics has enabled the bank to leverage big data and help business to make rational decisions rather than intuitive ones.
But this is by no means an end to the bank's digital transformation journey. An advanced technology that the bank is now focusing on is using the “Internet of Things” for the supply chain. A pilot project is already underway and the bank is looking to learn quickly from it so that the solution can be commercialised.
“We are looking at the end goal of helping customers do more, improve processes and ultimately save time and money. The move to go digital is truly a revolution and we want to ride this wave of transformation by becoming more agile, creating new business models, driving efficiency and delighting customers,” concludes Tinwalla.
Comments