# What Banks Need to Do Right Now to Improve Their Digital Services Without Sacrificing Security  Author: Pal Sinha, Barnali Author URL: https://financedigest.com/author/pal-sinha-barnali Published: 2020-12-14 Category: BANKING Category URL: https://financedigest.com/category/banking Meta Title: The Importance of Security in Digitization Efforts Meta Description: Learn how banks and FIs can balance digitisation efforts with security measures to protect against cyber threats in the wake of the pandemic. URL: https://financedigest.com/what-banks-need-to-do-right-now-to-improve-their-digital-services-without-sacrificing-securityhtml ![undefined](https://prod.superblogcdn.com/site_cuid_cm5qst7v3003gwirgwqtxn8i8/images/theme-1-1736838687000-compressed.jpg) _By **Mark Crichton,** Senior Director of Security Product Management at [OneSpan](http://www.onespan.com/)_ When the pandemic struck, the entire financial services industry had to move quickly to make sure digital platforms had the capability to service customers remotely. Technology plans that had been strategized at the beginning of the year went out the window. Teams began to prioritize providing customers with a fully digitized and seamless experience that enables customers to conduct all banking activities remotely. However, in the rush to digitize, it’s all too easy to overlook certain security concerns and issues. This presents the potential risk of security holes being left behind for cybercriminals to exploit. Fraudsters could potentially uncover numerous entry points into a [bank’s](https://www.financedigest.com/goodbye-plastic-hello-titanium-why-metal-bank-cards-are-the-future-of-finance.html "Goodbye plastic, hello titanium: why metal bank cards are the future of finance") or financial institution’s (FIs) network. For example, in the first month of the pandemic [over £800,000 was lost](https://www.actionfraud.police.uk/alert/coronavirus-scam-costs-victims-over-800k-in-one-month) due to fraud, which overall has [risen by 33%](https://www.experianplc.com/media/news/2020/fraud-rate-rises-33-during-covid-19-lockdown/) since the pandemic began. In order to prioritize digitization efforts and offer customers the best user experience that doesn’t compromise on security, there are a few steps [banks need](https://www.financedigest.com/the-bank-of-me-why-banks-need-to-be-totally-customer-centric.html "The bank of me – why banks need to be totally customer centric") to follow. 1. **Become a** [digital first organization](https://www.financedigest.com/the-medical-tourism-market-is-estimated-to-substantiate-i-e-grow-at-a-handsome-rate-in-upcoming-years-the-present-day-scenario-implies-the-adoption-of-smarter-ways-to-do-business-as-such-digital.html "The Medical Tourism Market to get filtered through organic digitized growth") Not many will argue that this [year](https://www.financedigest.com/is-2022-the-year-green-finance-incorporates-climate-risk.html "Is 2022 the year green finance incorporates climate risk?") has without a doubt been one of the most disruptive on record for financial services. [Banks have had little to no choice about whether to digitize their products and services](https://www.financedigest.com/how-to-enhance-banking-services-with-digital-performance-intelligence.html "HOW TO ENHANCE BANKING SERVICES WITH DIGITAL PERFORMANCE INTELLIGENCE"). Before the pandemic, banks and FIs were already making great leaps in this area, however the processes involved are extremely complex to digitize in their entirety. Whether it’s processes for loans or a new mortgage, many have remained manual and paper-based. Fortunately, modern technology is enabling banks and FIs to streamline these difficult processes and therefore offer fully [digital banking services](https://www.financedigest.com/major-myths-and-questions-holding-banking-and-financial-services-back-from-full-digital-id-adoption.html "Major myths and questions holding banking and financial services back from full digital ID adoption"). [Digital channels](https://www.financedigest.com/gamers-spend-twice-as-long-viewing-intrinsic-in-game-ads-compared-to-other-digital-channels-reveals-new-research-from-lumen-and-anzu.html "Gamers Spend Twice As Long Viewing Intrinsic In-Game Ads Compared To Other Digital Channels, Reveals New Research From Lumen and Anzu") have become a major new revenue stream that banks can take advantage of. Indeed, over the course of the pandemic, they have been the only way to interact with customers for many organizations. As [account opening and onboarding processes are critical to supporting digital](https://www.financedigest.com/community-fintech-11onze-to-launch-el-canut-a-super-app-offering-universal-banking-accounts-and-digital-debit-cards.html "Community fintech 11Onze to launch – EL CANUT – a super APP offering universal banking accounts and digital debit cards") channel growth, these should be the first things to automate and secure. Furthermore, it’s important that banks and FIs look towards cloud-based platforms and security solutions, as this will allow their backend [infrastructures to become](https://www.financedigest.com/are-banks-destined-to-merely-become-infrastructure-providers-in-the-banking-industry-of-the-future.html "Are banks destined to merely become infrastructure providers in the banking industry of the future?") more agile and nimble. A major benefit of cloud platforms is that they allow FIs to respond to ever-changing [customer needs](https://www.financedigest.com/you-dont-need-magic-to-anticipate-your-customers-needs-just-the-right-tech.html "You don’t need magic to anticipate your customers’ needs, just the right tech") and adjust to security threats quicker. 2. **Rethink the customer journey** Since customer journeys have become almost exclusively digital this year, they need to be rethought. Customers are becoming more unforgiving when they [experience friction on digital platforms](https://www.financedigest.com/choosing-the-best-digital-experience-platform-dxp-in-financial-services.html "Choosing the best Digital Experience Platform (DXP) in financial services"), yet they still demand to be able to conduct all of their banking activity digitally. So in order to satisfy customer needs, technologies must be put in place to accomplish this remotely. A key juncture in the customer journey is remote account opening. This has to be entirely seamless to reduce the rate of abandonment during the joining process. However, it still needs to be [secure and capable of accurately identifying that a customer is who they say](https://www.financedigest.com/london-police-say-queens-funeral-poses-biggest-ever-security-test.html "London police say queen’s funeral poses biggest ever security test") they are. Some [banks are still using legacy technologies](https://www.financedigest.com/banking-from-anywhere-embracing-technology-to-exceed-customer-expectations.html "Banking from anywhere: embracing technology to exceed customer expectations") to conduct these processes, often with siloed tools. Integrating a single [digital platform will help banks create a frictionless customer](https://www.financedigest.com/how-will-the-introduction-of-digital-banking-impact-customer-perception-and-overall-loyalty.html "HOW WILL THE INTRODUCTION OF DIGITAL BANKING IMPACT CUSTOMER PERCEPTION AND OVERALL LOYALTY?") experience and provide better insights into where customers are in the journey, what products and services they’re interacting with, and how secure those areas are. 3. **Change how we look at risk** After satisfying the two previous steps, [banks need to reconsider the risks that they and their customers](https://www.financedigest.com/knowing-your-customers-needs-is-essential-for-banking-innovation.html "KNOWING YOUR CUSTOMERS’ NEEDS IS ESSENTIAL FOR BANKING INNOVATION") face online on a daily basis. This step needs to be considered with the utmost [due diligence](https://www.financedigest.com/why-due-diligence-is-so-important-for-direct-debit-customers.html "Why due diligence is so important for Direct Debit customers"). If not thought through in its entirety, digital users and platforms will be left vulnerable. Fraud and other cyber threats are a major issue that [banks face](https://www.financedigest.com/analysis-u-s-banks-face-trillion-dollar-reverse-repo-headache.html "Analysis: U.S. banks face trillion-dollar reverse repo headache") in an everchanging landscape. As a digital first organization, carrying out regular and comprehensive assessments of the risks they’re likely to [come up against offers banks](https://www.financedigest.com/any-business-can-now-offer-their-customers-financial-services-how-embedded-finance-is-reinventing-the-wheel-when-it-comes-to-banking.html "Any business can now offer their customers financial services: How embedded finance is reinventing the wheel when it comes to banking") the greatest chance at stopping fraud in its tracks. In order to do this, [banks and FIs need to take a strong stance on risk](https://www.financedigest.com/the-risks-and-rewards-of-ai-in-banking-in-2022.html "The risks and rewards of AI in banking in 2022"). They must determine what level of risk they are willing to accept during times of heightened threat. By establishing what level is acceptable and deploying a multi-layered [approach to security](https://www.financedigest.com/as-saas-grows-financial-services-must-rethink-their-security-approach.html "As SaaS grows, financial services must rethink their security approach"), banks and FIs will be able to mitigate the risk of fraud. A multi-layered approach should include technologies such as [behavioral biometrics and real-time risk analysis to be able to constantly monitor](https://www.financedigest.com/monitoring-insider-behavior-to-catch-intruders.html "MONITORING INSIDER BEHAVIOR TO CATCH INTRUDERS") banking activity to help prevent the likes of account takeover attacks. 4. **Secure the mobile channel** Each digital channel is unique and comes with its own exclusive security issues. In terms of the mobile channel specifically, banks need to take a zero-trust approach to security. Customer devices should be seen as potentially hostile environments, as they could easily be jailbroken or have malicious software unknowingly installed. [Banks can’t](https://www.financedigest.com/why-banks-cant-adopt-digital-identities-fast-enough.html "Why Banks Can’t Adopt Digital Identities Fast Enough") trust that each mobile device is secure, so they should actively seek to secure their code and apps on the customer’s side. To be confident that their mobile applications are safe from the many digital threats, [banks and FIs must incorporate mobile](https://www.financedigest.com/why-you-should-use-a-mobile-banking-app-and-how-to-make-the-most-of-it.html "Why You Should Use a Mobile Banking App – and How to Make the Most of It") application shielding. This way, even if the device has been compromised in some way, the applications themselves will remain protected. 5. **Real-time risk analysis using AI and machine learning** Many of today’s [successful cyberattacks use machine-like actions that work](https://www.financedigest.com/how-to-make-hybrid-working-successful.html "How to make hybrid working successful") in a similar way each time. [Artificial intelligence](https://www.financedigest.com/artificial-intelligence-in-banking-magazine.html "Artificial Intelligence in Banking Magazine") (AI) has the tremendous capability to autonomously monitor patterns and behavior in account activity across multiple digital channels, which helps to identify any suspicious activity as it happens. AI and machine learning are enabling banks to spot any malicious activity quicker than any human – or team of humans – could, helping to reduce the damaging impact of these attacks. The technology allows banks to have much greater visibility into the security of their digital platforms to proactively mitigate attacks instead of reacting when it’s too late. It can also help organizations meet regulatory requirements and [improve the customer experience](https://www.financedigest.com/improving-customer-experience-and-profits-with-embedded-payments.html "Improving customer experience and profits with embedded payments"). Over the last couple of years, we’ve seen the financial [industry grow evermore competitive with the emergence of digital-only banks](https://www.financedigest.com/the-survival-of-the-banking-industry.html "THE SURVIVAL OF THE BANKING INDUSTRY"). Now, due to the pandemic, [traditional banks urgently need to digitize](https://www.financedigest.com/digital-banking-traditional-banks-vs-fintech-providers.html "Digital banking: Traditional banks vs. fintech providers") their services, products and all the process that go along with them. This has also unfortunately spawned new threats into the digital landscape as more [banks](https://www.financedigest.com/can-ai-supercharge-your-banks-digital-transformation-strategy.html "Can AI supercharge your bank’s digital transformation strategy?") and customers go digital. Needless to say, this ongoing digitization requires security to be given the utmost consideration, as it’s simply not something that banks can afford to overlook. As [digital platforms become the norm in financial services](https://www.financedigest.com/the-future-for-financial-services-is-digital-engagement.html "The future for financial services is digital engagement"), implementing these steps will put banks in the best position to drive customer satisfaction and growth in the future. --- This blog is powered by Superblog. Visit https://superblog.ai to know more. ---