The hidden revenue drain in commercial onboarding—and how leaders are fixing it

It starts quietly. A prospect signs up, paperwork begins, and then… delays. Days turn into weeks. Frustration builds. And before you know it, the relationship – and the revenue – slips away.

 

The truth? Your commercial onboarding process is bleeding revenue. The question is, can you stop it, and how quickly can you do so?

 

The wake-up call

 

A new Celent report, commissioned by nCino, pulls back the curtain on the real cost of outdated onboarding. Based on insights from more than 400 banking executives across North America, EMEA and APAC, it’s the most comprehensive analysis of commercial onboarding to date – and the findings are stark.

 

Manual processes still dominate critical steps such as document collection and KYC/KYB checks. The result? Customer abandonment, frustrated relationship managers and millions lost in unrealised revenue. But here’s the twist: some banks have cracked the code.

 

The paradigm shift

 

Leading institutions aren’t treating onboarding as a cost centre anymore. They’ve reframed it as a strategic growth engine. Why? Because every day shaved off onboarding accelerates revenue velocity. Every friction point removed saves millions in abandoned relationships. And every positive first impression compounds lifetime customer value.

This shift creates a virtuous circle: faster, more accurate onboarding drives immediate revenue growth, strengthens compliance and builds an advantage competitors can’t touch.

 

The AI inflection point

 

Now the next chapter begins. Banks are bullish about AI’s potential to transform onboarding speed and accuracy – especially in prospecting, needs identification and data management. But three barriers stand in the way: skills shortages, unprepared data architecture and security concerns.

Those who overcome these hurdles today will create a competitive moat that laggards may never cross.

 

Why act now?

 

The window is closing. Investment priorities are clear: self-service portals and data centralisation top the list. The competitive landscape is shifting fast. Banks that master onboarding transformation now will capture disproportionate market share tomorrow.

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Unlock the insights you need to turn onboarding into your competitive advantage – download the report now.