Top Trends in Finance: 5 reasons why lenders need to commit to digital innovation

Sometimes, it can be easy to slip into a “comfort” mentality. Why change what you already know? When it comes to your secured finance business, the thought of changing the technology you use and then having to train your staff can be daunting. However, maintaining the status quo may cost you more resources in the long run. 

Digital innovation benefits both your team and your clients. Your team will enjoy better processes that involve less manual input, giving time back for them to focus on tasks requiring their attention. The right technology can alleviate manual and time-consuming tasks, such as credit decisioning, scoring, customer verification, documentation, and funding, just to name a few. As a result, your customers experience a smoother digital journey, as they can access funds much more quickly and take control of their own accounts. 

Currently, digital innovation in secured finance is lagging behind other industries. There is often a disconnect between leadership and sales leaders, with 45% of CEOs having a positive outlook on innovation compared to 28% of sales leaders. This is starting to change, however, and over the next few years, we will see these numbers change. This is because lenders are starting to see the benefits of digital innovation, which include: 

Reduced costs 

If you have a lot of manual processes, you’re going to need a lot of time and resources. By investing in more innovative technology that can offer you the latest tools, you will ultimately save money by needing less input into your processes. This gives you time to focus on growing your business rather than firefighting tech issues. Additionally, with SaaS technology on the Cloud, you can cut down on IT spending too, as the maintenance and upgrades are taken care of for you. 

Better efficiency 

Automation is one of the key investments for secured finance lenders. Using technology that features automation, manual tasks such as decision-making and calculations are removed, meaning less human error and more time to focus on value-adding tasks. Automation can also help ensure the loan process is seamless, such as utilizing automated alerts when balances, trends, and credit limit issues need your attention. Without this, you might miss important information, therefore making the process inefficient. As a result of all of this, automation supports regulatory compliance, preventing the risk of human error or inefficient processes causing you to be in breach of any legislation. , 

Streamlined customer journey 

In a digital age, if you don’t innovate, you will see yourself losing momentum. Customers don’t want to have to call you every time they want an update or go to your local branch to sort through paperwork. With tools that streamline the digital experience, your customers can take the lead and self-service their own accounts. The importance of customer loyalty cannot be overstated, and if you want to be a reputable, reliable lender that your customers recommend to others, you should be focusing on their digital experience. 

Less human error 

Human error can have more serious consequences in the secured finance industry than in other industries. Outdated technology can leave your business vulnerable to data breaches and cybercriminals. If you are not utilizing technology at all, human error can be an even bigger issue; one typo in a spreadsheet could cost you a lot of time and money – or even worse, get you into legal trouble. By using innovative solutions that can do the important tasks such as calculations and decision-making for you, the chance of human error is significantly less. 

Scalability 

Every secured lender shares the same goal – growth. But how can you grow if your processes can’t grow with you? One of the biggest selling points of innovative technology is scalability. SaaS technology can be configured to suit your needs. Solifi’s solutions go one step further, offering multi-language and multi-currency capabilities, so even if your operations expand across borders, we have you covered.  

Overall, digital innovation is a top trend you should be looking into. Solifi prides itself on offering innovative technology that can help you stay ahead of the curve. 

In our next blog, we’ll discuss some of the emerging technologies that can support your digital innovation.