How PTS Bank Cut Video Redaction Time from 10 Hours to 1 with CaseGuard AI

Introduction: Meeting GDPR Compliance in the Banking Sector

In today’s financial sector, compliance isn’t just about ticking regulatory boxes; it’s about protecting customer trust in every step. Nowhere is this more evident than under the EU’s General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR), which requires banks to provide customers with access to their personal data within 30 days of a request.

For Permanent Trustee Savings Bank (PTSB), recognized as Ireland’s best personal bank, meeting this obligation was becoming a significant challenge.

When customers requested CCTV footage from a branch, Henry Cannon, who manages PTSB’s data access request team, had only one option: manually redacting every single frame.

“For a one-hour video, I had to print stills every few seconds and manually redact each one. That process took me around 600 minutes, an entire working day. With CaseGuard, the same task takes about 60 minutes.” Henry mentions.

The process was slow, resource-intensive, and unsustainable.

About PTSB

Permanent TSB (PTSB) is one of Ireland’s three pillar banks, serving over 1.2 million customers nationwide through 98 branches and digital channels. With a 200-year legacy and more than 3,000 employees, PTSB is publicly listed on Euronext Dublin and has been recognized multiple times as Ireland’s “Best Personal Bank.”

At the center of its GDPR compliance efforts is Henry Cannon, who has worked at the bank for 7 years and leads the data access request team of five. While his team handles most compliance documentation, Henry is solely responsible for redacting CCTV footage, a critical responsibility in protecting customer privacy.

The Challenge: Hours of Manual Video Redaction

Every year, PTSB receives 8–10 requests for CCTV footage. While that may sound modest, the manual redaction process was grueling:

• One-second intervals: Henry would print still images of CCTV footage every second, which means 24 images printed to capture one second.
• Manual edits: He then blacked out everyone in each frame except the requester.
• Extreme time commitment: A 1-hour video could require thousands of pages and an entire workday to complete.

In one case, a customer requested footage of a one-hour lobby meeting. To save time, Henry printed stills every 10 seconds instead of every second. Even then, it took nearly 10 hours to complete the redaction, leaving both staff exhausted and customers with binders of paper still, impractical for everyone involved.

Handwritten documents added another layer of complexity. Many GDPR requests involved forms or notes written by hand. Most redaction tools Henry tried could not reliably detect handwriting, which forced his team back to manual review. As Henry explained,

“We never found a program that worked for us and outsourcing was not an option.”

With the sensitivity of customer data at stake, PTSB required a secure, on-premise solution to maintain full control and compliance.

The Turning Point: Searching for an Automated Redaction Solution

In 2020, Henry began looking for a way to automate the redaction process. He tested several tools but found none that could handle PTSB’s mix of requests, especially handwritten documents. Then, he discovered CaseGuard AI.

CaseGuard stood out because it addressed both video and document redaction in a single, on-premise platform:

• On-Premise Deployment: All redaction work stayed within PTSB’s secure IT environment, meeting the bank’s internal data handling requirements while allowing the team to process CCTV and documents without relying on external servers or other cloud redaction solutions.
• AI Face Redaction: Automated detection of bystanders in CCTV reduced hours of manual frame-by-frame work, enabling Henry to fulfill video requests much faster.
• OCR for Handwritten Documents: Converted deposit slips and other handwritten forms into searchable text, making it possible to quickly locate and remove account numbers and signatures, a step that had previously slowed the team down significantly.
• Ease of Use: Staff without technical backgrounds were able to learn the platform quickly, which allowed Henry to extend redaction tasks beyond himself and distribute the workload more effectively.
• Training Support: Although Henry was able to get started independently, guided walkthroughs later helped his team identify automation features such as bulk redaction, which further reduced turnaround times on large requests.

“One of the most important things for us was getting an on-premise solution. With CaseGuard, we don’t share data with any third party. That ticked a lot of boxes for us.” Henry says.

Equally important, Henry highlighted CaseGuard’s support team: “They were exceptional. In urgent GDPR requests, they jumped in and made sure I could deliver under pressure.”

The Results: Time Savings and Efficiency

With CaseGuard, what once consumed hours is now streamlined, secure, and fully automated. Even on Henry’s older PC, CaseGuard demonstrated significant time savings. He expects further improvements once upgraded hardware is fully in place.

Impact Snapshot 1: Handwritten Document Redaction

• Before CaseGuard: 20–30 minutes per document with manual review.
• With CaseGuard AI: 2–3 minutes to redact over 100 documents, a drastic improvement that turned what once felt impossible into a routine task.

Impact Snapshot 2: 28-Minute CCTV Request

• Before CaseGuard: 1.5 hours processing time + 10 minutes for review.
• With CaseGuard AI: In just a few clicks, the entire process was automated. “With CaseGuard, I can let the AI run in the background while I focus on other priorities, something I could never do before” said Henry.

Impact Beyond the Numbers:

• Multitasking: Henry could let the AI run in the background while working on other tasks.
• Cost Savings: Eliminated the need to print and manually redact 1,000+ stills per CCTV request.
• Better Customer Experience: Instead of receiving stacks of printed pages, customers now receive digital files, faster, sustainable, and easier to use.

Henry’s Favorite Features

• Face Redaction: With GDPR requests involving CCTV, Henry no longer spends hours blacking out bystanders frame by frame. The feature ensures compliance while freeing up time for the team.
• OCR for Handwriting: Previously, handwritten deposit slips and forms stalled the process because no tool could read them. With OCR, Henry’s team now processes these requests in minutes instead of manually reviewing every page.

Getting the Most from CaseGuard Studio

While Henry found the software easy to use, he credits CaseGuard’s training sessions with helping him unlock even more value.

“I would recommend anyone using CaseGuard to take up the training sessions in order to come up to speed more efficiently and effectively.”

Looking Ahead

Henry is eager to expand PTSB’s use of CaseGuard beyond video redaction. The bank frequently receives transcription requests, and he plans to test CaseGuard’s transcription feature, particularly for its ability to handle diverse accents, a challenge that had stalled previous tools.

He also expects further efficiency gains once his upgraded PC hardware is installed, allowing him to fully utilize CaseGuard’s capabilities.

Advice for Other Financial Institutions

Henry doesn’t see CaseGuard as just another tool; for him, it’s a critical safeguard that helps financial institutions meet GDPR obligations with confidence. His advice is clear:

“I would seriously tell other banks and compliance teams to consider using CaseGuard AI because the support behind the product is exceptional. You’re not just getting software, you’re getting a team that ensures you succeed.”

He also acknowledges a concern many banks share: whether AI compromises data security. For Henry, the answer lies in CaseGuard’s on-premise solution:

“We were never scared of a data breach because CaseGuard is on-premise. If it were cloud-based, it might have been a different story. This way, we have automation without ever risking customer data.”

Conclusion

For PTSB, CaseGuard has turned an exhausting manual process into an efficient, secure, and compliant workflow.

What once consumed an entire working day now takes about an hour, and handwritten forms that previously required manual effort are redacted in just a few clicks. With automation in place, PTSB can meet GDPR obligations more confidently while safeguarding customer data.

See how CaseGuard AI, can help your institution work smarter, stay compliant, and protect customer trust. Talk to an expert today.