Treasurers seeking friction-free, end-to-end on-boarding and authorities – or signatory – management are the inspiration for two new innovations of Bank of America’s, CashPro Assistant. But these are more than just simple enhancements, as the bank’s Jennifer Boussuge, Global Head of Treasury Fulfilment Service Operations within Global Technology & Operations, and Hubert J.P. Jolly, Head of Channels & Global Commercial Banking in Global Transaction Services explain.

Tradition has it that the bank onboarding process for corporate clients is manual and slow; managing documentation for AML and KYC takes time and it’s a common pain-point that treasurers endure out of necessity. But Bank of America is transforming that experience into one that is secure, transparent and fast.

New desk-top service dashboard and authority management tools are now being rolled out through CashPro Assistant, itself part of the CashPro digital banking platform for cash management, credit, foreign exchange and trade services. These significant developments will revolutionise the client experience, dramatically simplifying the working lives of the approximately 500,000 users who access CashPro for their daily treasury needs.

Throughout the development process, the emphasis has been on end-to-end automation, with speed, simplicity and transparency as the goals. The results represent a full front and back office overhaul, taking out all manual keying and hand-offs for clients and bank employees alike.

Redefining the onboarding and service experience

The new service dashboard within CashPro allows clients to quickly open and clearly view all implementation and service requests. But this is not just a visual tool; it is one designed for action, with workflows and status alerts to drive progress. It is also the nerve-centre of client/bank communications throughout the entire process.

CashPro Assistant in action

It is now possible, in just one place, to see all the actions needed on every aspect of documentation, to respond to and manage those requirements, and electronically sign them, even on the CashPro mobile app. With “status view”, clients can see the level of progress made for each action and expedite proceedings wherever needed.

In displaying all request details in one place, the dashboard reveals to every individual (or function with appropriate access rights) the full request scope, the necessary contacts, the required documentation and the process status of each request. All actions can be done at any time the client chooses, not just bank opening hours.

Adding transparency to documentation processing also enhances security, since users have visibility into the precise status of every request at any given moment. Such control is especially beneficial to clients with sophisticated treasury requirements across multiple regions.

Where something as simple as account number reservation typically required various manual processes and a mix of emails, phone calls and spreadsheets, the new CashPro Assistant tools defy tradition. Service teams no longer have to personally call branches to request information. Thanks to secure digital automation, instead of days, account opening can take hours or even minutes to complete.

For any action, the moment a client’s request is entered into the system, an automated search is made for relevant documentation already held by the bank. This search is executed across the bank’s interconnected data store. This means repeat presentation of current documents for KYC for example, are a thing of the past for clients.

Consolidated digitised authorisation

The adoption of a holistic profile of client activities within CashPro Assistant means managing authorisations for CashPro users has been turned on its head. The traditional way of thinking of authorisations, by account and by entity, saw information stored on different databases and often on unrelated spreadsheets.

The employment of a new treasurer, for example, required contact with each banking provider and in some instances different contacts across geographies, often necessitating different documentation and disparate messaging for each. Every change demanded a repeat performance. At no point was any of this offered as a consolidated view, making authorisation control a real challenge.

The new way places the individual at the centre of the process. By viewing an employee’s profile across all entities and accounts, the client is given control to manage all authorities in one place. They can do this at any time, allowing reports to be easily created on individual or all authorisations, and to take action as required. With audit trails and workflow capability, CashPro Assistant can, for example, manage escalation of action to the required level of authorisation, and even provide specific bank personnel contact details for direct issue management.

Roll-out

Whether on-boarding or managing account authorisations, the new CashPro Assistant now promises a fast, simple, secure and transparent experience for users when exchanging documents and communicating with the bank.

Full platform pilot is underway with a group of clients in Europe and will be available for all Europe accounts this summer. The authority management tool will be added for Europe and the United States accounts by end of year. Other regions will be phased in over time.