Safe and Smart: IoT Deployments in Banking

From the power of artificial intelligence (AI)-enabled solutions to increased mobility through smart devices, the idea of the connected world, also known as the Internet of Things (IoT), is being shaped by customer demands for productivity and optimized experiences, fulfilled through the adoption of transformative technologies.

Digital Transformation

Networked devices and platforms are having a significant impact on our daily lives, changing how we interact with each other, how we do business (hello, mobile banking), and how we communicate. Simply put, digital transformation is enabling people and businesses to engage in new and exciting ways.

It is fair to say, due to security and operational concerns, banks are conservative and typically later stage adopters of certain technology like IoT. In the early stages of IoT, banks focused more on the deployment of digital methods, such as a richer online banking experience, increased positioning in an especially competitive marketplace. For example, in retail banking environments, faster payments, improved response to client requests, and more responsive mobile services are critical features that drove adoption; prior to technologies like AI, video analytics, and customer automation.

With a focus on the idea of digital methods and early-stage IoT adoption, video surveillance has become one of the largest generators of IoT data, and banks rely heavily on video to help reduce fraud, improve customer service, and improve training. Banks leverage information collected from an array of systems and sensors to operate an end-to-end integrated and trusted solution; and effectively collecting, analyzing, storing, and acting on all of this information in real-time is critical to achieving organizational and operational goals. All of this is ultimately tied to improved investigations and better customer service

Customer Engagement

The emergence of IoT and intelligent technologies, including mobile and online banking, is critical to improve customer engagement and make the everyday services clients require to run smoothly. And to stay up-to-speed with a constantly shifting risk landscape and progressing threats, financial institutions must not only plan for today, but also look ahead to ensure the use of the most innovative, yet proven technologies and solutions.

As new trends and strategies emerge and take precedence, security leaders should stay prepared and continuously work to gather as much data and intelligence as possible to modernize, simplify, and automate their business.

Most financial organizations are looking to leverage technologies to achieve common goals: satisfactory customer engagement, enhanced security, and fraud reduction. Moving forward, banks need to consider how these efforts can be significantly affected by the power of IoT.

Big Data and Analytics

To help financial organizations predict and identify threats in real-time, market leaders offer sophisticated solutions that go beyond the traditional sphere of video recording and focus on software tools and analytic applications to solve specific problems.

For example, facial recognition can be used to identify a fraudster that visits multiple locations. Loitering detection is another growing Applications; if someone stands at an ATM vestibule for longer than a specified period, the system can notify the appropriate stakeholder to the situation. While this action could be involved in ATM skimming or it could be someone just getting out of the weather, having access to this kind of information propels an immediate and appropriate response.

Cybersecurity

When you think of a bank's security system, cybersecurity may not immediately come to mind, as hacking and malware are often thought of as separate from physical security devices. But the two are quickly becoming intertwined, as intruders are starting to use more sophisticated and unique methods to gain access to networks, data, and assets. 

As more and more physical security devices become connected through IoT, encryption and vulnerability testing are essential to ensure secure data transfer. As with any networked device or IoT strategy, financial institutions must install regular updates and firmware on network devices and practice proper password hygiene.

Automation and Modernization

For banks to invest in technology, solutions must allow security teams and investigators to dedicate time and effort to relevant tasks and efficient responses, while leaving certain operations, such as firmware updates and camera verification, up to automation. Modernized processes will need to take advantage of prominent trends, including IoT and the cloud while elevating the customer experience and overall loyalty.

Although moving video to the cloud has quite a few barriers — bandwidth and high cost currently — the cloud offers many benefits when it comes to sharing information with other stakeholders quickly and efficiently. For example, if you have an incident at a bank, today the process to share video information is manual; the bank manager or centralized investor has to burn the event to a CD. But the cloud can simplify this process: the investigator can share video via an encrypted link with a username and password. Law enforcement can then quickly and easily access the data, which can be used to close cases more rapidly than before.

Where Banking Organizations Stand

The banking market continues to evolve through the growing use of digital and mobile devices, as more branch operations aim to enhance convenience and service for the customer. These advancements also create greater opportunities for fraud and loss. Increasingly sophisticated fraud techniques require organizations to embrace new approaches to preventing and detecting such activities. Bank leaders need to look at how these new solutions and the connected world within IoT can propel their success and competitive positioning to realize greater growth.