Recently, we had an opportunity to help one of the prominent banks in Indonesia to solve a problem they faced in the cheque clearance process. The process involves verification of the authenticity of the signature in the cheque, which is a time-consuming process and often overlooked by the clerks. Simple mistakes in signature verification could result in transaction delays and frictions in the bank operations and its customer experience. Our client wanted us to build a solution for solving this challenge. Our answer was – Hyperautomation.  

As per Gartner’s top 10 strategic technology trends for 2020, Hyperautomation is one of the most trending technologies. In a nutshell, it is the combination of Robotic Process Automation technology with Artificial Intelligence. This combination of technologies offers a myriad of benefits, as it enables machines to have the intelligence to automate more complicated tasks.

Robotic Process Automation technology can enable machines to automate rule-based tasks. But, to automate more complex tasks that demand cognitive reasoning, rule-based RPA is not sufficient. For example, an RPA solution can extract the signature and other details from a cheque. But, to verify the authenticity of a signature, the solution needs to have some level of intelligence to compare the sample signature with the verified signature available in the database and make a decision whether the sample signature is authentic or not. And this is where AI comes into play. AI technologies such as Computer Vision, Natural Language Processing, Machine Learning, Deep Learning, etc can be employed along with RPA software to automate complex tasks at scale. It can be considered as a level above RPA, further substituting the involvement of humans in both physical and digital tasks. 

The benefits offered by hyper-automation are huge. It has been steadily gaining popularity as companies have started prioritizing increased ROI above all else. According to Coherent Market Insights, the international hyperautomation market is expected to develop at a CAGR of 18.9 % during 2020-27 with widespread digitalization of outdated manufacturing plants being the key contributor to the numbers.

Hyperautomation technology helps companies to amplify their digital journey. It also lays down a strong foundation for the production of crucial innovations and enhancements in business growth. The technology mostly results in the making of a digital twin of an enterprise/organization, letting them envisage its functions, procedures, and key performance indicators to drive more value. One of the most sought-after use cases of hyperautomation is that It can connect various departments in an organization. Such tools can help in connecting data, processes, and operations from various areas. The combination of RPA, intelligent tools, and software robots with users across all organizational core processes makes it easier for users to collaborate. 

Considering the challenges faced by our client, we developed a computer vision-based signature forgery detection system. Using computer vision, the solution was able to learn textual patterns in scanned cheques. The system uses deep learning algorithms to compare it with the original signature to identify even the minutest variations. However, there are situations when one might not be able to put a signature the exact same way as the sample available with the bank. We designed the AI model to identify and measure this mismatch percentage and determine whether it is, in fact, a genuine signature that simply has a minor difference from the original one. This greatly improves the reliability of such systems as it does not cause inconvenience for genuine signatories. The solution was able to reduce the manpower requirement in one branch from 12 employees to 2 employees and reduced the cheque signature verification time by 70%.

Hyperautomation eradicates bottlenecks across the chain of operations, optimizes processes, and reduces the number of time-consuming manual tasks. This ensures that your employees are more productive, driven, and motivated to take on more work.