Why it’s time to automate and safeguard your operations

Generating new digital opportunities for people to manage their funds is especially important for EMIs – it is what sets them apart from competitors. However, so too can the safeguarding of their client funds. If they fail to innovate in this area of their business with equal dedication, they will be separated from their competitors for all the wrong reasons.

In this blog we will therefore explore how EMIs can advance the activity which underpins their safeguarding efforts and ultimately ensures the security and reputation of their entire operations – reconciliation.  

Upgrading as you grow

Exhibiting tunnel-vision on improving customer experience can gain EMIs success but also unfortunately leave back-office operations neglected and outdated. Whilst this might be ok for a period of time, once the gap between front-end innovation and back-end stagnation becomes too vast, problems are bound to arise.

After all, Wise releasing the possibility for people to “manage their money internationally more cheaply” inevitably attracted a lot of attention and no doubt led to the the number of transactions they were processing on a daily basis being sky-high. When innovations such as this come around – increasing transactional volume – back-office operations like reconciliation – which are integral to safeguarding – will only be able to cope if they too possess the ability to scale.

Here are some reasons as to why manual, outdated reconciliation practices are not conducive to growing tech-first EMIs:

• Time-consuming – when manually reconciling, every transaction must be checked one at a time. With high volumes of transactions this is not sustainable considering that the FCA demands EMIs complete daily internal and external reconciliations.
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• ‍Errors – anything done manually is not immune to mistakes. Plus, the law of averages means that the likelihood of errors occurring only increases the more that something is done. However, when it comes to reconciliation to ensure that client funds are segregated and totalled at the correct amount, there is no room for errors, regardless of how many transactions are handled.
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• ‍Opaque insights – manual reconciliation is a singular task yet despite this it is still very time-consuming. It is therefore near impossible to expect those engaged in reconciliation to also find the time to accurately document their every interaction with transactions and all their movements. However, this inaccessibility to transactional insights goes completely against the requirements of auditors.
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• ‍Money drainer – manual reconciliation not only saps away time, but it also drains money. To counteract the high volumes of transactions being processed, financial departments which manually reconcile find themselves having to employ more and more people as transactions continue to grow. This is a very costly expense considering that payroll is one of firms’ largest expenses and that most EMIs prefer to invest in front-end developments.
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• ‍Regulation risk – safeguarding activities such as reconciliation by EMIs are to ensure the security of client funds and protect their own operations from compliance breaches. Whether it is manual reconciliation risking there not being enough time to meet regulations, causing errors which lead to compliance failures, or simply the fact that the FCA wishing for firms to reduce their risk score by adopting automation, manual reconciliation puts EMIs in the firing line for falling short of regulations.

It is therefore evident that to secure client funds, continue their growth, and protect their operations from regulatory reparations, EMIs must upgrade their reconciliation processes as they grow.

Aurum Solutions: scalable safeguarding

In Aurum teams will find reconciliation designed to not just match transactions but also the innovation of their business. However much a company might scale, Aurum can match it. However many new safeguarding accounts a firm employ, Aurum can match it. However much documentation an auditor might request, Aurum can match it.

If you’re wondering how this is the case, here are just some of the ways Aurum makes the perfect match for scaling EMIs:

• Automation – Aurum automates the reconciliation of client funds in minutes, ensuring that discrepancies amongst millions of transactions are quickly identified and resolved before end of play.
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• ‍Transparent audit trails – processing all transactions as it reconciles them for EMIs, Aurum also generates complementary and comprehensive audit trails to document the movement of funds. As a result, EMIs can maintain a transparent and auditable trail of all transactions and balances, building trust with clients and appeasing regulators.
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• Scalability and flexibility – as EMIs grow, their operational needs evolve. Aurum’s platform is designed to be scalable, adapting to increasing transaction volumes and new types of financial products without compromising performance or accuracy.
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• Risk reduction – by automating the reconciliation process and in turn ensuring all transactions are accurately recorded without errors, Aurum significantly reduces the operational risk associated with manual processes. This risk reduction is crucial for EMIs, where the safeguarding of client funds is paramount and so too is meeting regulations.
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• ‍Improved operational efficiency – automating routine reconciliation tasks frees up valuable resources, allowing EMI staff to focus on more strategic, value-adding activities. This not only improves operational efficiency but also contributes to a better allocation of human and financial resources.
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• ‍Continued growth – as mentioned Aurum is scalable. As such, when EMIs grow, so too does it automating capability. This means that at no point will additional financial professionals have to be employed for surplus transactions as they simply won’t exist. EMIs will therefore be able to save money on new back-office hires to instead invest in developments that will attract more customers.

Automate the safeguarding of your operations

Overall, when it comes to safeguarding, Aurum and its automation is a platform which delivers a complete solution for EMIs’ challenges. Together with Aurum, EMIs can:

• Safeguard client funds with reliable and fast reconciliation
• Safeguard their operations from regulators’ reparations with complete audit trails
• Safeguard their business from competitors by freeing up resources to focus on what matters most to customers

In the fast-paced world of electronic money, book your Aurum demo today to ensure you have the reliability, efficiency, and security that all EMIs need to thrive.