Bank statements are official and legal documents used in transactions concerning banks and finances. They provide information about individuals, types of transactions, and other relevant details. These are generated in thousands of numbers in banks, and information extraction from each is important. The extracted information serves the purpose of designing the bank’s growth strategy, analyzing previous transactions, and understanding the usage of different bank services and other internal endeavors.
What are the methods of bank statement extraction and processing?
Bank statements can be extracted manually or automatically. The manual method requires reading the available data and entering it into the ledger by an individual. It is a time-intensive process holding several negative effects, including:
- Slow extraction, processing, and validation of data that hinder daily activities and transactions.
- The high employee hiring cost does not guarantee error-free work, owing to the high amount of data.
- Also, manual data insertion into the ledger can not generate different file formats.
The numerous disadvantages associated with manual bank statement processing led to the requirement for automated data extraction. Automated bank statement processing uses OCR or Optical Character Recognition for data recognition and extraction. Initially, organizations adopted template-based data extraction software. However, they were required to be taught a layout to which they had to adhere and function. Dealing with different types of bank statements further limited the functionality.
Then came AI-based automated bank statement processing. It efficiently combats the previous issues. Moreover, often unstructured data is presented in a bank statement, which can also be efficiently processed by AI-based bank statement software. Thus, it provides numerous benefits by decreasing human intervention, providing speed and accuracy, and eliminating the chances of fraud.
What features to look for in bank statement software?
The AI-based bank statement software eases the tasks, saves time, provides high accuracy, and supports multiple file formats. Yet, each bank’s needs may vary depending on the services, the type of employees, and several other factors. Though AI-based bank statement software eases the tasks, it is crucial to understand the specific requirements. Based on this, certain features might be needed by banks. Here is a list of features that must be considered while choosing efficient bank statement software.
- Check for the classification ability
Banks deal with a lot more than simply credit or debit. They are associated with loans, mortgages, fixed deposits, various types of cash flows, and accounts. The information will vary and must be classified for efficient storage and retrieval.
- Speed and accuracy
The most basic aim of automation is to obtain speed and accuracy in data or bank statement processing. Ensure that you opt for the option that offers the highest speed with precision, without human intervention. Also, check accuracy in terms of interpretation of unstructured or blur data. Often typing and printing errors provide some incomprehensible letters and numbers. A good AI-based automated software accurately understands and provides the output.
- Flexible file formats
Bank statements can be available in any file format. Moreover, they can be required by different suppliers in different formats. The bank statement software you choose should provide this feature.
- Security
Security is a priority in banks. No one except the concerned person and authority in concern should access the personal information. Information leakage can lead to fraud, unintentional debits, and locker access. The bank statement software must ensure limited access to each employee based on roles and responsibilities. Additionally, it must monitor account activity and provide alarms against unauthorized access.
- Integration
Software must provide accessibility in different departments of the bank. For instance, it must connect the bank’s accounting, finances, cash transactions, and other departments. The integration will save time and eliminate issues during the transfer of data.
- Error recognition
Dealing with numerous data, bank statement software should recognize errors in bank statements such as impractical numbers in cash flow, wrong account numbers, or unmatched names. It should notify the employees regarding the same.
What Will A Bank Statement Software Extract?
Based on AI technology, the latest bank statement software can effortlessly extract the following information with accuracy from the bank statement:
- Information of bank: Bank name
- Information on account holder: Name of individual and account number
- Information on amount: Opening and closing balance and transaction details
Additionally, good software checks for fraud and displays an error message.
How does AI-based bank statement software work?
The software requires the simple act of clicking pictures. The programs and AI in the software do the rest. Here is the workflow followed for the processing and extraction:
- Step 1 – Optical Character Recognition, or OCR, is used to extract the data. It also incorporates reverse image search methods for efficient output.
- Step 2 – This step involves neural networks and advanced intelligence to read the data. It allows editing by the users if required.
- Step 3- It requires employee verification to ensure correct interpretation and comprehension of data depending on the image or any other uploaded file format.
- Step 4 – Apart from validation, the software also allows the employees to perform modifications. Any changes do not require clicking the image and repeating the processes. Also, it provides suggestions to enhance readability, which can be accepted or rejected according to suitability.
- Step 5 – Now the data has been perfectly extracted from the bank statement. The next step is to download in the preferred file format. Based on the integration feature, the software will also permit sharing or exporting of data in the preferred file format.
Conclusion
Switching to the latest extraction technology and processing of bank statements reduces costs and increases productivity. It helps in employing the team members in high-productive work. Moreover, it reduces the risk of fraud and chances of errors which can be a reason for the loss in banks.
Streamline your finances with an AI-based bank statement reader. Embrace the latest technology for accelerated efficiency, flawless accuracy, and reduced costs by up to 70%.
