Securing digital innovations in financial institutions

“DIGITAL or Die” has become the motto for the financial services sector. Consumer expectations are pushing further and further into digital realms — and they have never been higher. This is reflected in research findings, such as a report from Bain & Co that estimated that Southeast Asia’s digital economy would reach US$200 billion in gross merchandise value (GMV) in 2022, three years ahead of projections, fuelled by omni-channel ecommerce, digital adoption and flourishing financial services.

To meet these heightened demands, banks and financial services organisations are transforming the way they do business. They are digitising legacy platforms, accelerating cloud migrations and investing in emerging technologies such as artificial intelligence (AI) and the Internet of Things (IoT) to increase agility.

Indeed it is widely recognised that the use of digital technologies will help businesses streamline and improve processes. Since technology is an enabler to greater productivity, it will also result in higher standards of living and improved resilience against uncertainty. This will result in the explosion of digital technology spending in Asia Pacific by 3.5 times the value of the economy in 2023, according to a report by IDC.