The advancements in banking and financial institutions are kicking in full swing. With data being the centre of all procedures, it has brought an immense amount of ease and speed in the working mode of these institutions. Not just that, but it has made a world of a difference in bringing satisfaction from the customer end as well.

But if anyone thinks that is the whole picture of the banking sector then they are highly mistaken. It’s like turning a blind eye to another side of the story which is equally important.

Progress has also been made in fraudulent activities and thefts happening in this sector in all ways possible. To name a few are identity theft, credit card fraud, breaching of data security, ATM thefts, etc.

The security of banking and financial institutions is the emerging concern today.

In this time, identity management solutions are proving to be the saviour of the banking sector. They are a trustable source to help make the financial wing of the country a little less exploitable.

Lets learn what exactly are identity management solutions.

What are identity management solutions?

Identity management solutions are a set of tools or softwares that allows secure management of digital identities which can be both users and devices, their authorization, authentication and access to a specific system.

Gone are the days where strong username and password would just do fine. A lot more today is required for maintaining utmost security and identity management solutions and products with the addition of multi-factor authentication has proved to change the game. On top of it they are very cost effective solutions for banking systems.

IAM- Identity and access management systems perform two main tasks. They are:

Authenticate

It is a process which lets the system know if the user is what he/she claims to be or not. The usual process of entering username and passwords into the website is a way of authentication the user by matching them with the information stored in their database. Although this has now become a less secure method as many other reliable and better resources are available today.

Authorize

This is a process which allows the right kind of access to the right kind of access to the right information for a given user. This step checks what kind of access is allowed to the user and allows only that resource to be exposed to him.

The identity management system provides various insights into different user roles and their activities and helps create reports on those activities.

Adapting biometrics, artificial intelligence, and machine learning in these systems has made them reach new levels of advancements and breakthroughs in their products.

Many companies have started designing products to specifically target the banking sector with ideas and access control solutions.

Smart-I Electronics solutions is one such company. It picked up the need of banking and financial institutions early on to rely on identity management and access control technology and built products incorporating those features ranging from bank data centre solutions to monitoring solutions.

Top reasons why the banking sector should implement identity management solutions.

1. Heightened and better security.With identity management solutions, banks can be assured that they are implementing secure and effortless authentication procedures to their users.The right personnel holds the access to the right kind of information which eliminates the threat of any unknown logins which may lead to leak of crucial data.It carries out detailed verification of all the user identities before allowing access to any vulnerable information.
2. Improves efficiencyIdentity management solutions definitely increase efficiency as it speeds up the process of authorization and authentication. It helps recognize the authorized user faster which leaves a positive impact on user experience.It has also managed to minimize the human tasks involved and transformed the procedures to be performed on complete automation. It saves time and leads to better accuracy and hence the efficiency is improved.
3. Focuses on end user experienceIAM has a lot of benefits when it comes to its users. It makes the process hassle-free for all users by giving them only one identity for authentication across various banking platforms and services.Users do not have to confuse between different login credentials for different services.Also customers are given self service management so that they can manage their own identities and password resets or set their preferences according to them.With single sign on (SSO) , multi-factor authentication, and adaptive authentication the systems have become more user-friendly and less prone to threats.This kind of focus on user experience enhances and improves customer relationships which is always the target of banking systems.
4. Easily accessibleMajorly every important task requires identity which makes users to have quick access to any platform without having to wait for long authentication procedures.Identity management solutions help them with that easy access anytime and at any place. This makes it so much more reliable and convenient yet safe and secure.
5. ComplianceBanks and all other financial institutions require regulatory compliances such as GDPR, SOX, etc. Implementing proper identity and access control solutions gives these institutions a surety of compliance plus the assurance of enforcing policies, auditing compliance and decreasing frauds.There is no limit when it comes to finding new ways and paths to improve the existing solutions to strengthen the security and overall system management.Identities are an important asset in today’s time and it must be given priority.In coming times, more challenges will erupt with complex systems and increasing cyber attacks which we should prepare for with proper use of technology and new strategies.

Future trends in Identity solutions that will shape the future of banking and financial institutions.

1. Involving BiometricsDecrypting passwords has become an easy task with an increase in sophistication of hackers. Hence an additional layer of security on top of password authentication is required which opens the door to biometric authentication. This incorporates retinal scans, facial recognition and fingerprints. These are more trustable in identification of the user for all systems.We have started leveraging biometrics in many areas already. For example, the products like smartSAFE and smartSRD from smartisystems. They allow biometric access control for safe and locker room and cash room doors which makes them more safe.Even some other products from smart-I systems like monitoring of document storage facilities have biometric access control for registering entry and exit of authorized/unauthorized persons.Although putting biometrics in full blown practice in every sector and business will take time but is surely going to happen in the years to follow.
2. Block chain TechnologyBlockchain technology is emerging as a better alternative in having a strong authentication process which cannot be breached easily.It lets us make a shift from maintaining a centralized database of user identities to a decentralized model which is less time-consuming and comes with minimal security risk.Blockchain allows users to create, register and protect their own identities and negates the whole concept of centralized identity providers. The data of users remains encrypted the whole time and the control lies in hands of respective individuals to decrypt it only when it is required.An important part of the block chain is the audit trail. It lets you record all activities performed by users from their login history to any changes performed which instantly brings any fraudulent activities happening in the light.
3. Implementation of CIAMBe it any business in whichever sector, customer is the first and foremost priority.CIAM- Consumer identity and access management , is way different than traditional identity and access management. It is more customer-centric. It is capable of managing a huge number of customer accounts and records.Furthermore, CIAM gives proper insights into who the user actually is, its preferences and behaviors based on the data acquired.
4. Use of Artificial intelligenceArtificial intelligence joining hands with Identity and access management solutions will be a great option to look forward to.AI algorithms can be used to follow up on suitable data patterns while performing data analytics. Some banking systems around the globe have started utilizing this type of analysis to counter frauds and risks that they are exposed to.Currently, we are living in an age of advanced technology and artificial intelligence. The power it holds is immense. It can be so perfect and spot on in detecting behavioral patterns of users and analysing them to later capture any suspicious activities happening though unauthorized logins.This will also help in reducing the need of security consultants and the manual work which will in turn boost the efficiency of the banking system.

Conclusion

Thus speaking in a nutshell, identity management solutions are definitely something that is actually benefiting the banking and financial institutions in establishing a safe, secure and seamless approach. With time we will witness more and more banking systems implement these solutions and move towards creating an environment that is nearly risk-free.