Banque Populaire Grand Ouest digitises cheque delivery
EXTENSIVE DEPLOYMENT FOR TOTAL SATISFACTION
Banque Populaire Grand Ouest (BPGO) is a regional cooperative bank based in western France. Covering 12 departments, the BPGO has a total of 310 agencies and 3,000 employees.
At present, the BPGO is the Banques Populaires regional bank that processes the most cheques per year. Nearly 16 million cheques will be handed in by 2022.
Normally, these cheques were processed using a scanner in each branch, requiring manual handling by an advisor. In the event of an error on the cheque (wrong account number entered, wrong amount read, illegible name, etc.), reprocessing required the intervention of a member of staff in the cheque department, thereby delaying the crediting of the remitter’s account.
BPGO also wanted to rethink its branch distribution model. In particular, it wanted to free up advisors’ time for higher value-added tasks.
In its search for a new branch concept, Banque BCP approached Caisse d’Epargne Haut de France, which was equipped with self-service cheque delivery machines.
Banque BCP contacted Iagona to find out more about the banking solutions we offered, and to equip its branches in the best possible way.
Banque Populaire has studied possible solutions to automate cheque remittance processing as far as possible. After discussions with Caisse d’Epargne CEPAC and Banque Populaire Rives de Paris, which are also equipped with IAGONA check deposit terminals, the subject of “Check Terminals” was proposed to the Executive Committee.
As part of the Cheque project, the Management Committee approved the installation of several test terminals in four different branches. The aim of these pilots was to validate or invalidate the appropriateness of installing check remittance terminals. As the pilots proved entirely satisfactory, particularly in terms of flow management, a number of new terminals were immediately installed.
Today, the BPGO has acquired a large number of check cashing terminals. Deployment is still in progress.
Branch managers have been so impressed by the reliability and time-saving benefits of these terminals that the decision was quickly made to equip the entire branch network.
Over 80% of all branches in France have a self-service banking area (LSB) where there is sufficient space to accommodate a cheque terminal. This is the lock at the entrance to the bank, accessible even when the branch is closed. S10 Iagona terminals are installed in this area, so that customers can access them at any time. In addition, with a view to standardizing its fleet of ATMs, BPGO aims to homogenize all its LSBs, both in terms of equipment and layout. The aim is to offer customers the best possible banking experience.
BPGO was convinced by the speed with which cheques could be processed using Iagona cheque deposit terminals. During manual processing, cheques deposited from Saturday afternoon to Monday, outside branch opening hours, did not appear on customers’ accounts until Tuesday or even Wednesday. Customers had to wait for the advisor to return before the cheque could be processed and recorded. Now, these remittances are credited as early as Monday.
What’s more, the terminals are in line with the CSR approach favoured by the banking network. There is no longer any need for a remittance slip, which saves a considerable amount of paper.
Today, the BPGO is fully satisfied. As proof of this, as soon as a branch is temporarily relocated while work is being carried out, branch managers note the lack of terminals.
