In the wake of Silicon Valley Bank’s collapse, the global financial system has come under increased scrutiny, yet one of its more vulnerable aspects remains overlooked: the outdated technology used to power it. Though the end-user experience of banking and finance has advanced significantly with digital, online banking, trading, etc., the underlying infrastructure used to make these transactions happen is actually quite obsolete.
Account onboarding (pre-trade setup) and post-trade processes at banks and investment management firms, especially those that require risk management, often rely on manual processes and emails, spreadsheets, and even faxes. The frequency of human errors that occur mean these processes are costly, use up valuable resources, and add stress to an already complicated system. A 2017 report from the Depository Trust & Clearing Corporation (DTCC) stated that 20% of financial trades fail due to bad data caused by such manual processes.
To their detriment, customers’ onboarding experiences are also largely negative. In 2017, Thomson Reuters released a study that revealed 84% of participants viewed their onboarding process in a negative light. As a result, financial institutions are in dire need of a digital transformation, yet are often reluctant to embrace the very technological advances that can help.
Enter Saphyre, an AI-powered platform developed in 2019 by twin brothers Stephen and Gabino Roche. The Roche brothers saw the severe inefficiencies of manually managed workflows and sought a software-based solution that could help centralize and streamline operation. Saphyre’s interoperability allows all parties to access the same information in real-time, ensuring the data remains secure and up-to-date.
Not only has this platform been welcomed by the biggest financial institutions in the world, but it has also landed investment capital totaling more than $18M. Blackrock, BNY Mellon, Northern Trust, American Century Investments, LGIM, and Franklin Templeton are some of its early adopters, and in harnessing Saphyre’s platform, these firms have seen dramatic improvements to their operations.
Though the financial industry as a whole currently operates under a T-2 system, where trades take 48 hours to close, AI and automation now make the possibility of T-0 (same-day transactions) an attainable reality. If the banking industry aims to run securely and efficiently, these innovations will become increasingly integral components of the global financial system.
