OTP Bank Croatia is the fourth bank in the Croatian banking market by size of assets. It employs over 2,000 people with a network of over 120 branches and cares for more than 500,000 clients. OTP Bank Croatia is part of the OTP Group operating in 12 Central and Eastern European countries with the aim of expanding to the south-eastern European regions, and the implementation of electronic signature solutions is part of the Group strategy.
E-signature as part of digitalization strategy
Implementation of e-signature has proved to be a project that is fully in line with OTP Bank’s digitalization strategy and in the service of achieving the key goals:
- saving resources
- security of business processes in branches,
- environmental awareness – social responsibility,
- a better user experience.
Electronic signature achieves a significant reduction in transaction time and facilitates the receipt and storage of documents, thus improving the user experience. At the same time, the negative impact on the environment is minimized because there is no need to print, transport or store physical documents. Also, the security of the transaction is guaranteed by direct verification of the signatory identity and the use of biometric data that includes signature specificities such as pressure, angle, writing speed, etc.
“Our project was running in parallel with the process of merging two large financial systems - OTP bank and Splitska banka. It was a big challenge for us, but in collaboration with IT Systems we found a way to successfully bring out this project. We did not give up because the analysis showed that the way we used to work until now, the costs will increase exponentially, and after the initial investment in the implementation of e-signatures it will be linear. Which is proven through practice.“
— Antonia Perica
Director of the Business Network Support Division, OTP banka
In three months from pilot project to full implementation
OTP bank implemented the e-signature solution in March 2018 as a pilot project, and in May of the same year the implementation was extended to the entire network. Clients electronically sign all the documentation on the counter, and the bank employees have internal documentation. In idle, signature screens serve to display marketing materials.
The implementation took place in two phases:
Phase 1
Implementation of solution to existing business processes with printed forms, without changes in the processes themselves.
- 100% workplaces
- 100% transaction documentation
- Creating a loan application from a cashier application
- Implementation of the Marketing module
Phase 2
- New form design
- Implementation of additional documentation
- Implementation of a more complex solution – creation of newly designed forms in PDF format from the cashier application
Architecture of electronic signature solutions in OTP
Namirial electronic signature system
Client and server software for dynamic-biometric signing.
Electronic signature devices
Hardware for displaying documentation and clients signing. The solution supports a variety of device combinations: signature screens, signature pads, tablets, mobile phones, etc.
Docs4ECM Integration System
Client and server software with additional components for integrating electronic signature solutions as well as additional data capture and data processing solutions and as well as Marketing module.
The process before and after implementation
BEFORE
- The client initiates the transaction at the branch-office.
- The cashier executes the transaction in the bank’s Core system.
- The cashier prints the transaction on a dot matrix printer.
- The client signs the transaction on paper – retains one copy.
- The cashier stores the second copy.
- After the shift the cashier:
- sorts some of the documentation for destruction at the branch-office,
- scans some of the documentation for storage in the digital archive,
- prepares part of documentation for the physical shipment by truck to a central location.
AFTER
- The client initiates the transaction at the branch-office.
- The cashier executes the transaction in the bank’s Core system.
- The client signs the transaction on the signature screen.
- The cashier chooses whether the transaction is printed on a small thermal printer or sent to the client’s email.
- The document is automatically archived into a digital archive upon signature.
