How Five Robots Replaced Seven Employees at a Swiss Bank
How Five Robots Replaced Seven Employees at a Swiss Bank
St. Galler Kantonalbank’s pilot project seen as a success
Bank will decide on further assignments by the end of May
By Stephan Kahl May 3, 2018, 9:00 PM PDT Updated on May
4, 2018, 4:00 AM PDT
Have seven employees work for three days or use software
robots instead? In a pilot project, St. Galler Kantonalbank AG opted for the
second option. The bank is so satisfied with the test results that it wants to
decide on further assignments by the end of May.
"We’ve seen that’s technically feasible and now
we’re exploring whether other applications are worthwhile, and I’m very
optimistic about that", Felix Buschor, member of the management board,
said in an interview with Bloomberg. "The assessment of the potential is
in full swing."
Buschor admits that the use of robots is causing some
employees to worry about their jobs. "However, as we have always
compensated efficiency gains through natural fluctuation and because we paid
close attention to enabling our employees to develop new technologies, the acceptance
is high," he said.
Robots replace expensive interfaces
St. Galler Kantonalbank is not the only bank currently
examining the use of new technologies, Christian Voigt, managing director of
Nuremberg-based IT consultant Roboyo GmbH, said. He helped the Swiss bank with
its test run. "In the financial sector, the automation of processes is
currently a huge topic, and we work with banks, insurers and leasing
companies," Voigt said.
He attributes the banks’ strong interest to time savings
and cost reductions. For example, thanks to the use of robots, it is possible
to forgo costly and expensive software interfaces for the communication between
two systems, he said. "Sometimes, seven-digit amounts of money are needed
for such an interface."
SGKB’s test run, which also skipped such an interface,
was carried out in connection with the acquisition of M.M. Warburg Bank Schweiz
AG’s private banking business. SGKB had to transfer about 5,000 securities
positions to its own IT systems. The five robots that were used did their job
well, the bank said.
Use in compliance seen
Buschor puts the costs for the first use of the software
robots at 20,000 Swiss francs to 30,000 Swiss francs, for example for hardware
and external consulting services. Should the bank opt for further uses, the
financial costs would accordingly be spread over several projects.
A study by GFT Technologies SE carried out at the end of
2017 showed that technologies and artificial intelligence have the potential to
revolutionize the financial sector. The survey involved 285 professionals from
small to large retail banks in eight countries, including Germany, who were
interviewed by phone in collaboration with market researcher Frost &
Sullivan. Around 94 percent of all participants of major banking institutions
saw direct added value in artificial intelligence solutions.
Buschor can imagine a variety of uses for software
robots. "I’m thinking of internal control processes or compliance,"
he says. But there are also limits to their use, for example when it comes to
advising customers, he added.
Original Story: Wie 5 Roboter bei Schweizer Bank 7
Mitarbeiter ersetzt haben
Comments
Post a Comment