Document Portal
Document portal technology facilitates the exchange of documents from one party to another. Specific features vary, but document portals typically allow a receiving party to initiate a request that is fulfilled by a submitter who electronically uploads documents. Given the nature of such exchanges, document portals are usually cloud-based.
Document portals can be tremendously valuable to organizations that generate and receive a large amount of information. Banks and credit unions rely heavily on document portals, although some financial institutions still prefer traditional methods of information sharing.
Risks of Not Using a Document Portal
Financial institutions that do not utilize document portals tend to gather information via email, FTP, or paper-based workflows. Such approaches may be familiar to staff but often fall short due to:
- Misalignment with the Account Holder Journey: Asking borrowers to “stop by” the branch and drop off financial statements creates friction—especially for customers and members who manage their records electronically.
- Inefficient, Error-Prone Processes: Maintaining a secure FTP site, for example, requires technical oversight by IT staff. When something breaks, account holders may be unable to submit records until the issue has been resolved. Even when things work perfectly, someone may need to manually route documents to the correct team member. Building retention rules into an FTP site requires additional administrative effort.
- Security Risks: Banking documents frequently contain sensitive information, such as social security numbers and demographic information. Accepting documentation via email exposes the account holder and the financial institution to any number of data security risks.
Benefits and Examples of Document Portals
Implementing a secure, reliable document portal can help financial institutions overcome traditional information sharing challenges by:
- Reducing paper
- Freeing up IT staff from FTP management
- Reducing sensitive information stored in employees’ inboxes
- Creating a scalable workflow for electronically requesting information
Banks and credit unions have several options to consider when it comes to selecting a document portal. Examples include:
- General-purpose, standalone document portals: Some vendors offer general-purpose solutions that are designed to support a variety of industries (not just banking). General-purpose portals are popular among financial institutions, despite the lack of banking-specific functionality.
- “Captive” document portals: Banking tools like LOS (loan origination systems) and credit analysis packages sometimes offer built-in portal capabilities, which can be handy for lending teams. That said, other departments like retail may not be able to benefit from these capabilities.
- Standalone document portals for banks and credit unions: Implementing a standalone portal that’s purpose-built for financial institutions could provide enhanced flexibility. Alogent’s document portal, for example, enables bankers to securely request and gather documents from account holders, non-account holders, and even third parties.
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