Optical character recognition (OCR) is the mechanical or electronic conversion of scanned or photographic images of handwritten, typewritten, or printed text into computer-readable text/images. 

The main application of this technology is in industries where a lot of data entry happens, and numerous printed records are to be decoded. This enables the digitization of printed texts to enable data extraction, electronic editing, compact storage, and online display. OCR is used in machine processes such as machine translation, text to speech, and text mining.

Digitalization of these paper-based artifacts offers the following benefits:

• Limits manual work:
  Many operational processes within a financial institute can be integrated by means of digitization such that data verification gets easier and less time consuming. This is especially beneficial when an existing customer tries to transact through online channels. Customer gets the required solution within a matter of few seconds since entire data is stored digitally and easily verifiable. There is no need for filling many forms or documents or giving the same information which was given earlier.
  
  
• Transparency and Convenience:
  Transparency while transacting is greatly increased when details and data are made available online. Data dashboards give a single unified view of the entire details of a customer.
  
  
• Safety and Security:
  Artifacts and data stored online is digitally safe and helps in quick reference. There is lesser risk of losing the digital data which are stored online. This system offers security from fraud instances as well.