RBS to Launch Accelerated Client Onboarding
The Royal Bank of Scotland (RBS) plans to provide a new service that will offer the bank’s corporate clients a secure, quicker and simpler way to open bank accounts, which also reduces paperwork for customers by 75%.
Corporate treasurers will now be able to open a bank account using a single signature interactive form, which replaces 70 individual signatures and 38 individual documents totalling 86 pages. They will also be able to set up online banking and payments quickly and efficiently.
RBS said the new accelerated client onboarding service will launch initially in 23 countries, followed by further roll-out across the bank’s international network to cover more than 30 countries.
This service is one of the first steps by RBS to simplify its customer documentation processes. It is part of an overall move, announced by chief executive (CEO) Ross McEwan in February, for RBS to be a simpler organisation with which to do business and to be “the number one bank for customer service” by 2020.
“Most banks consider lengthy documentation processes a necessary evil, but when we heard about the problems that the complexity and volume of paperwork were causing our customers, we wanted to do something about it,” said Carole Berndt, RBS’s head of global transaction services.
“We are pleased to have a solution that makes the process simpler, less time-consuming and more cost-efficient for them to open a bank account with us. Our customers are our primary focus and we want their journey with us to be a rewarding customer experience.”
The new service is already piloting with some of the bank’s largest clients and will launch initially in the UK, in addition to the following 22 jurisdictions: Australia, Austria, Belgium, Canada, Czech Republic, Denmark, France, Germany, Greece, Hong Kong, Ireland, Italy, Luxembourg, The Netherlands, Poland, Singapore, Spain, Slovakia, Sweden, Switzerland, UAE and the US.
It will later be available in China, India, Indonesia, Japan, Malaysia, Thailand and Turkey.