The financial sector is in the midst of sweeping transformation. A growing number of financial institutions recognize the importance of enhancing digital capabilities to drive growth and gain competitive advantages in a rapidly evolving market. By digitizing manual processes and centralizing records, these organizations can improve the customer experience, retain existing customers while attracting new ones, as well as drive productivity, optimize operations and save costs.

However, many financial institutions, regardless of size, often encounter limited IT resources. For instance, credit unions only employ, on average, 16.7 employees. Such small workforces are unlikely to have the IT resources necessary for developing and maintaining customized digital solutions. To harness the benefits of digital transformation without cost or resource overruns, these institutions can leverage low-code-no-code technology.

Simplified tools maximize digitization initiatives

Organizations that are perennially strong performers provide personalized, accessible digital services, such as omnichannel banking, claims processing, loan applications and new client onboarding. The same firms also digitize internal processes like back-office support operations, run more smoothly. These types of improvements help institutions meet customer demands for tailored convenience and speed while maintaining compliance with ever-changing regulations.

Digitization, however, doesn’t just happen with the click of a mouse. Deploying new technologies and solutions or making changes to existing digital processes requires an effective IT strategy and roadmap, as well as capital and manpower. Institutions must be thoughtful about digital transformation initiatives to maintain an edge even against competition with deeper pockets.

Plenty of financial firms have dove into the world of low-code solutions to get the most out of their often-limited resources. They are adopting digital tools that don’t require sophisticated technical knowledge, such as low-code biometric authentication, low-code and no-code AI-driven process automation  and pre-built back-office and member-facing solutions.

Despite the variety of available no-code and low-code tools, financial firms should still perform their due diligence before selecting a technology partner. Decision makers may want to consider the following capabilities:

• Financial services experience, particularly with compliance: Vendors should possess a comprehensive understanding of the regulatory landscape, encompassing requirements established by entities such as the SEC, FINRA, NCUA, as well as other regulations including BSA and GDPR. Financial firms should also focus on vendors who are committed to security and data privacy, which is of utmost concern among potential and current customers.

• Low friction: “No-code” and “low-code” refer to a wide range of functionalities. Firms may want to home in on tools that are especially intuitive, like those which offer drag-and-drop interfaces or are easily accessible.
• Customization: Often, there is a trade-off between low-code and customizability. But some vendors do offer flexible, low-code solutions that customers can quickly configure to their specific needs.  
• Growth: One of the most challenging acts to perform with limited resources is scaling. And many solutions offer reasonable implementation price points, only to gouge customers when it comes time to add more capacity. Firms can seek out vendors that offer a cloud-first development approach with transparent pricing structures that allow them to scale and remain dynamic without incurring unforeseen overruns.
• Ability to serve as a technical backbone: Low/no-code solutions that can serve as a technical hub for the rest of a firm’s apps and services are especially valuable. Consider a no-code solution that establishes a records-management framework with automated records retention. Building around this framework can reduce compliance, as well as operational costs.

Regardless of the selected feature set, it may be helpful for firms to maximize out-of-the-box features, including pre-built solutions before customizing anything and provide regular trainings to jumpstart and maintain digitization.

No code but plenty of ROI

The right low- or no-code solution offers numerous benefits to financial services organizations. Institutions with limited IT resources can leverage these tools to meet customer demand and rapidly changing challenges. Financial firms can also use these platforms to create internal processes that meet employees’ expectations and demand for a stronger user experience, all without adding untenable costs to their IT spend.

It’s a challenging environment for financial firms, but those that find a home for cutting-edge low- or no-code solutions can deploy automated solutions quickly, speed adoption of digital tools, and achieve the ROI needed to compete.

This article was originally published on the Laserfiche Blog. Laserfiche is a leading SaaS provider of intelligent content management and business process automation.