Upstart SVP Jeff Keltner discusses the pitfalls of digitalization-first approach

Where banks go wrong and how automation can help lenders When a doctor’s office switched to virtual office visits during the COVID-19 pandemic, nurses were given iPads and sent into private rooms to connect with patients over Zoom, then waited for the doctor to make his rounds to each iPad. While this example of an effort at digitization appears quaint, it exemplifies the perils of digitizing manual processes, says Jeff Keltner, senior vice president of business development at automation lending company Upstart. In this episode of “The Buzz” podcast, he says the example is exactly how many banks approach their digitalization.
When a doctor’s office switched to virtual office visits during the COVID-19 pandemic, nurses were given iPads and sent into private rooms to connect with patients over Zoom, then waited for the doctor to make his rounds to each iPad. 

While this example of an effort at digitization appears quaint, it exemplifies the perils of digitizing manual processes, says Jeff Keltner, senior vice president of business development at automation lending company Upstart. In this episode of “The Buzz” podcast, he says the example is exactly how many banks approach their digitalization. 

“When we think of digitizing as the goal, you end up doing that — you digitize the old way of doing things,” Keltner tells Bank Automation News. “What people really want is an easier experience enabled by digital, and so digital isn't the goal, it's the tool.” 

The tool needs to create an easier process, and that’s where automation comes in, he says. For many banks, the process of identifying a customer became the digitalization of producing a license; banks simply asked customers to upload a picture of their identification. Then, a person will manually verify the ID rather than having software process the recognition of valid IDs, Keltner explains. 

“You uploaded the document from your phone, but you still waited two days for the person to review and get back to you as opposed to ‘Did I automate it and make that process easier for the consumer?’” he says. “Digital just gives you so many more tools, and so many ways to automate what used to be manual processes.” 
Listen as Keltner shares lending technology trends and what banks need to do to successfully automate lending processes. 
 

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