Automation has started eating up jobs at top banks. Here’s what has been replaced so far

Robotics and Artificial Intelligence (AI) is slowly reducing job opportunities in the banking sector and several services that banks offered have been replaced by automation already.

Thanks to ever enhancing information technology, you will see more robots and tech in banking sector doing the job humans used to do earlier.

For instance, jobs such as passbook updating, cash deposit, verification of know-your-customer details, salary uploads are also going digital increasing job redundancies.

Several banks such as Axis Bank, ICICI Bank and HDFC Bank are pushing the boundaries of technology by implementing robotics to centralise operations and for quicker turnarounds in things like loan processing and selling financial products to customers.

"Look at the quintessential cheque book request, today 75% of that happens digitally. Earlier, these customers used to walk into our branches. There is increased automation within branches. We have more than 1,500 cash deposit machines, so why do I need a teller,” Rajiv Anand, head - retail banking at Axis Bank, told ET.

Also, it used to take five people to do monthly salary upload job. But now, it has also got automated.

"Low-end back office jobs like data entries will no longer be required in the next three years. The rate of growth of new jobs in the banking sector will definitely come down,” Saurabh Tripathi, senior partner and director at BCG, told ET.

HDFC saw staff strength fall for two-quarters in a row. The employee count fell by 7% to 84,325 in the quarter ended March 2017 from 90,421 in December 2016.

Automation does not necessarily mean that there would no more be banking jobs. But they will be at a different level. Banks need to approach customers and educate them about financial products that are in the market.

"Footprint increase is not the number one priority in absolute branch strength. Increasing reach and distribution is our priority. Reach and distribution we will increase through digital and more feet on street and relationship managers of the bank,” Shyam Srinivasan, CEO at Federal Bank, told ET.