The Expert View: Powering a New Era in Commercial Onboarding

Opening the discussion, Thomas Byrne, General Manager, EMEA and International Onboarding at nCino, said onboarding is often hindered by internal siloes, duplicated document requests and manual processes that frustrate staff and customers. His colleague, Andrew Yates, Founder at FullCircl, a company recently acquired by nCino, added that the problem is not the availability of data, which is widely commodified, but how it is used. “It’s about automation and orchestration,” he said. “If we get those right, we can make onboarding less painful.”

 

Yates described a future where periodic reviews of customer risk profiles could be replaced by event-driven updates, reducing the administrative burden. But attendees agreed that most banks remain a long way from that vision. The challenge is not just technological – it is structural, cultural and regulatory.

 

The challenge of siloed operations

Participants were quick to highlight that operational fragmentation continues to hamper progress. Onboarding teams are under pressure to deliver rapid time-to-revenue, but their efforts are often stalled by credit risk assessments that operate on a separate track. In many banks, compliance, risk and relationship teams work in isolation, leading to repeated work and unclear ownership of the customer journey.

 

This fragmentation becomes especially visible in multinational banks. Clients may submit documents to one branch, only to be asked for the same information again by another. Better orchestration across functions and geographies, participants agreed, would not only improve efficiency but also reduce friction for clients.

Yet, as one executive noted, every team has a valid reason for how it operates. What is needed is a collaborative workspace where all these views can coexist – without duplication.

 

Lessons from the startups

In contrast to incumbents, newer entrants are onboarding customers with remarkable speed. Free of legacy infrastructure and entrenched processes, they can build systems tailored to specific market segments. A bank focused solely on sole traders, for example, has a narrow customer base enabling faster, more predictable onboarding.

 

Startups also benefit from greater risk tolerance. If the leadership is willing to accept more risk, they can move faster. But big institutions, attendees suggested, are both more complex and more conservative.

 

Better customer communication can help. Delays can be unavoidable, but frustration can be reduced if clients are told what’s happening, how long it will take, and why it must be done.

 

Document sourcing challenges

Sourcing documents remains a key pain point. Customers are sometimes asked for documents already in the bank’s possession or available through public sources. But retrieving documents from third-party databases can be costly and time-consuming, prompting banks to ask clients directly, even if it means requesting the same thing twice.

 

Complicating matters further, official documents tend to expire. In certain jurisdictions, retaining expired documents is a regulatory breach; in others, digital infrastructure is so limited that obtaining updated documentation can take months. Some attendees suggested using AI to monitor expiry dates and flag when new versions are needed.

 

Even within the UK, archaic practices persist. One bank still demands “wet ink” signatures on paper forms sent by post, for example.

 

The regulatory landscape

Regulatory pressure shows little sign of easing. Attendees described the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) as a particularly tough regulator, with conservative interpretations of compliance obligations. Elsewhere in Europe, legislation is trending in a similar direction, increasing the compliance burden for banks.

 

By contrast, some markets – notably the United States – adopt a lighter-touch approach. There, risk and compliance are often treated as discrete tasks completed at the end of the process, with greater responsibility placed on customers to provide the necessary data.

 

Towards better solutions

Retail banks, accustomed to high customer volumes and low margins, have set new expectations for onboarding speed. Commercial banks, dealing with more complex customers and higher regulatory stakes, cannot always match these timelines – but that doesn’t mean they are stuck.

 

Several promising innovations were discussed. One European bank partners with a third-party provider to conduct pre-qualification assessments, offering early risk insights without triggering credit reports. In some countries, BankID systems provide a digital identity layer that streamlines verification, though uptake remains uneven across Europe. In the Middle East, by contrast, digital ID is a prerequisite for any financial transaction.

 

But lasting change requires more than new tools. Cultural and organisational inertia remains a major barrier. “Banks are full of people who’ve been there a long time – and who don’t like change,” said one executive. “Plus, each domain controls its own budget. That makes transformation difficult.”

 

According to attendees, securing an internal sponsor is critical. The most effective champions are often those who own the commercial relationship, as they are best placed to articulate the revenue impact. “If you can cut onboarding from 30 days to 10, that’s a huge win,” said Mr Yates.

 

As the breakfast concluded, Mr Byrne noted how many participants had focused on ongoing compliance, rather than onboarding itself. He said: “The pain doesn’t end once the client is through the door.” However, both men agreed that it isn’t necessary to fix everything at once. Targeted improvements at specific parts of the compliance, risk and customer relationship processes can deliver benefits and prepare the way for future enhancements.

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