Dive Brief:
- After JPMorgan Chase’s payments division introduced a mail automation robot at one of its lockbox sites for processing paper checks last year, the bank found that the robot can manage some 4,000 different types of envelopes and documents, the bank said in a May 27 press release.
- Created in collaboration with the Hayward, California-based AI robotics firm Ripcord, the robots open envelopes, remove and unfold documents, remove staples and scan the correspondence, the bank said in the release.
- JPMorgan, the largest U.S. bank, is also using large language models to automate lockbox processing. Staffers can now access an AI assistant to view real-time processing information and focus instead on the tasks that require human input, the bank added.
Dive Insight:
Prior to developing the robotic system, JPMorgan’s lockbox operators manually processed about 480 million checks and documents annually, and they used about 13 billion keystrokes to process the paper, but now the tasks are “largely automated” with over 99.9% accuracy, the New York-based bank company said.
“Lockbox remains a cornerstone of our client offerings,” Michelle Conklin, head of receivables and public sector for JPMorgan’s payments division, said in the release. “By investing in robotic and AI technology to improve our lockbox operations, we are automating the most labor-intensive tasks of the process, freeing our team to focus on more complex, higher-value decision making.
“The result is a faster, more secure, and smarter receivables process that gives our clients both agility and peace of mind,” she added.
JPMorgan’s new AI tools are part of the bank’s broader technological modernization efforts. In its announcement, the company noted that it is pouring $19.8 billion annually into tech infrastructure efforts like this one.
Banks are automating these tedious processes as businesses and consumers cling to paper check use. The results of an annual survey last year by the Association for Financial Professionals found that the share of respondents using checks climbed from 75% in 2023 to 91% in 2024.
That’s despite rampant check fraud. Nearly two-thirds (63%) of respondents said they experienced check fraud or attempted fraud via in 2024, an AFP report on the survey results noted.
While JPMorgan updates its lockbox operations, other companies are still offering lockbox services. In 2022, Deluxe purchased First American Payments for $960 million. With that deal, Minneapolis-based Deluxe was able to expand its lockbox processing, receivables management and other mobile payments services.
