Automation

The industry has long talked about embracing digital technology — but the time for talk may be over.

Robotic process automation is normally the province of large banks, but Extraco Banks in Texas and Carter Bank in Virginia are training bots to perform repetitive, mind-numbing tasks.

Finding a balance between short and long-term needs is the main goal for future-focused leaders, said Tipalti's Chen Amit.

KeyBank, Regions and others are using self-service portals, robotic processing automation and virtual assistants to digitize the collections process and make it more humane in anticipation of rising delinquencies.

Shifting to a seamless, customer-centric automation strategy can help credit unions better compete with the big banks while also meeting consumer expectations set by the likes of Amazon, Uber and more.

The rapid pace of technological change will force financial services companies to invest in more efficient digital offerings for clients, eliminate jobs and retrain staff to focus on higher-value work, according to an Accenture report.

Employees at first feared the process might eventually lead to the elimination of their jobs. Ultimately, however, the bots let employees focus on more important tasks, the bank says.

The custody bank has deployed more than 300 bots and is using artificial intelligence throughout the organization.

Technological efficiencies will result in the biggest reduction in headcount across the U.S. banking industry in its history, with an estimated 200,000 job cuts over the next decade, Wells Fargo said in a report.