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In digital transaction processing, the whole is greater than the sum of its parts.

If you’re a broker-dealer, financial advisor or even just close to the financial services industry, you know that straight-through processing (STP) represents the pinnacle of digital success. It’s the “whole.” And yet many fall short of achieving it. They’re too tangled in the individual parts. Staright Through Processing

Financial services professionals are increasingly going digital where they can—email, social media, online forms, etc. But unless these processes are connected and form a true end-to-end digital process, efficiency drags and advisors—along with their clients—will be frustrated at the inefficiencies, duplicated work and higher operating costs. It’s “part-through processing”, and it can be painful.

For true straight-though processing, advisors and broker-dealers need:

  • Bundling and integration of forms: This is where a complete set of forms sits at-the-ready for any financial transaction and ensures you’re using the most current versions of all forms.
  • Data validations: This process makes sure that all fields in a document are filled out according to the rules you make. For instance, a form may check to see if a birthday was entered and then confirm it’s an actual date.
  • E-Signatures: There’s no need to start a digital process and then convert to a paper one. With e-signatures, you’re able to sign and initial all transactions anywhere, anytime and on any device.
  • E-Payments: E-payment functions let clients pay online and move the transactions forward immediately. No mailing checks. No manual processing. Easy.
  • Complete electronic processing and storage: Once all materials are fully processed, transactions are automatically complete.

So what’s the cost if you start with an online form and then print hard copies to get client signatures in person or by mail? Or what if you use services that don’t validate data or collect e-payments?

  1. You’re working harder, not smarter. Simply put, you’ll have to put more effort into your transactions. It may seem menial—stuffing a few envelopes, manually checking forms to make sure they’re correct—but all of this time adds up into a real drain on productivity. When straight-through processing is deployed, these systems are efficient and allow you to put more effort into business development.
  1. Transactions take longer. In financial services, time matters. The market is constantly moving and clients may not be able to wait a few days for an account to be opened or a transaction approved. With part-through processing, you’re short-circuiting the quick pace of digital technology.
  1. You risk accuracy and compliance. NIGO (not in good order) documents are a massive concern among financial professionals. Forms must be filled out precisely and accurately, and if they’re not, turnaround time and frustration mount.
  1. Clients get irritated. Straight-through processing improves client satisfaction because they don’t have to do as much work on their end and they get their deliverables sooner. If this doesn’t happen, you may risk losing a client to another firm.

We partner with Docupace Technologies so that financial services professionals have access to complete straight-through processing together with the ownership, control, longevity and security that our Independent E-Signatures™ provide.

 

Want to learn more about e-signatures for financial advisors and broker-dealers? Download this [free] ebook today!

Download our eBook "5 Reasons Financial Advisors Love Digital Signatures"

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