straight-through processing (STP)
What It Means
Straight-through processing means completing an entire business transaction automatically from start to finish without any manual intervention or human touches. The system handles everything - from receiving the initial request to final completion - using predefined rules and automated workflows through connected software systems.
Why Chief AI Officers Care
STP directly impacts AI strategy because it represents the gold standard for operational efficiency that AI systems should enable or enhance. When AI models can plug into existing STP workflows through APIs, they can make real-time decisions that keep transactions flowing automatically, reducing costs and eliminating human error. CAIOs need to ensure their AI implementations don't break existing STP processes or create new manual bottlenecks.
Real-World Example
A credit card payment at an online store that automatically verifies the card, checks for fraud, authorizes the amount, processes the payment, updates inventory, generates a receipt, and triggers shipping - all within seconds without any human involvement from either the merchant or payment processor.
Common Confusion
People often think STP just means 'fast processing' or confuse it with batch processing that happens overnight. The key distinction is that STP happens in real-time for individual transactions, while batch processing groups many transactions together to process later.
Industry-Specific Applications
See how this term applies to healthcare, finance, manufacturing, government, tech, and insurance.
Healthcare: In healthcare, straight-through processing automates entire clinical and administrative workflows from initial patient i...
Finance: In finance, STP is critical for trade settlements, payments processing, and regulatory reporting where manual interventi...
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Includes:
- 6 industry-specific applications
- Relevant regulations by sector
- Real compliance scenarios
- Implementation guidance
Technical Definitions
NISTNational Institute of Standards and Technology
"The successful execution of a service, process, or transaction performed entirely through traditional application platforms with predefined interfaces (i.e., application programming interfaces [APIs])."Source: IEEE_Guide_IPA
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