Background
Samba Bank, a prominent financial institution, faced significant challenges in its daily reconciliation processes. Handling vast amounts of data from various sources manually led to inefficiencies and increased the risk of errors. Samba Bank partnered with SMH Global to develop a comprehensive automated reconciliation system to address these issues.
Pain Points
Manual Data Handling:
Samba Bank’s reconciliation team was overwhelmed with managing data from multiple sources. The primary data sources included:
Core Banking System & Card Management System
Switch System
Payment Scheme
Each source provided data in different formats and required extensive manual compilation and filtering before any meaningful comparison could be made.
Data Comparison and Matching:
After compiling and filtering the data, the bank needed to compare and match entries from these diverse sources. This was a detailed manual process that involved:
Altering data formats to ensure consistency
Matching data entries across sources
Identifying discrepancies and placing unmatched entries on hold
This manual process was time-consuming and prone to human errors, leading to operational inefficiencies and delayed reconciliation.
Solution Provided by SMH Global
To address these challenges, SMH Global developed the Samba Reconciliation System. This automated system revolutionized the reconciliation process at Samba Bank by:
Automating Data Collection and Filtering:
- The system accepts raw source files from the bank’s Core Banking (Edge), Switch (BPC), and Payment Scheme (Mastercard, Raast, Paypak etc.) systems.
- It automatically alters and filters the data to ensure consistency across all sources.
Automated Data Comparison and Matching:
- The system performs automated comparisons of the altered data from various sources.
- It matches data entries efficiently and accurately.
- Unmatched entries are automatically flagged for further review, drastically reducing the need for manual intervention.
Benefits Realized
Significant Time Savings:
- Automating data collection, filtering, and comparison processes dramatically reduced the time required for reconciliation.
- The system swiftly handles large volumes of data, enabling daily reconciliation tasks to be completed in a fraction of the time previously required.
Reduced Manual Effort:
- The system freed up bank personnel to focus on more strategic tasks by eliminating the need for manual data handling and comparison.
- The risk of human error was significantly minimized, leading to more accurate reconciliation results.
Enhanced Operational Efficiency:
- The automated system ensured a consistent and reliable reconciliation process.
- It provided a clear audit trail for all reconciliation activities, improving transparency and accountability.
Faster Resolution of Discrepancies:
- Unmatched entries and discrepancies were quickly identified and flagged, allowing faster resolution and reduced holdover periods.
Conclusion
The Samba Reconciliation Project by SMH Global transformed how Samba Bank handles its reconciliation processes. The system provided significant time savings, reduced manual efforts, and enhanced operational efficiency by automating the data handling, filtering, and comparison tasks. This project stands as a testament to SMH Global’s commitment to delivering innovative and effective solutions tailored to the specific needs of its clients.
