How banks are embracing the digital revolution

Modern-day banks want to become digital banking leaders. Customers, competition and compliance are without doubt the three ‘C’s’ fueling this development. The demand for digital innovation is growing rapidly, whilst competition in the financial markets is fierce. Couple these with the stringent regulations being placed on financial firms and it’s clear why so many financial firms are moving to the cloud and digital technology. Indeed, it is one of the safest, most cost-effective and efficient way of managing communications.

Despite the reputation of being slow to react to change and sticking to legacy technologies, it’s surprising how many banks are embracing the digital revolution. The benefits of transitioning to the cloud and going digital are becoming too obvious to ignore; failing to make this move could lead to banks being labelled a ‘’dinosaur’ of the financial industry.

There are two types of technology that we are seeing dominate the digital shift within banking, particularlycommunications.

Web Real Time Communications (Web RTC)

The internet is transforming communications, with WebRTC taking this one step further. Indeed, it has the potential to revolutionise both internal and external communications in the financial sector. An open-source project supported  aroundby Firefox, Microsoft and Apple, Web RTC enables voice and video calling directly from the web browser, thus creating an instant direct connection, whether it’s between employees or the bank and a customer. Web meetings can be set up effortlessly, giving individuals the opportunity to connect via audio or video conference, and share content, wherever they are located.

A big draw with WebRTC is that there is nothing for firms to install or maintain. Prior to WebRTC, if banks wanted to interact with customers via video or audio, they required a stand-alone application or a fully-fledged Unified Communications (UC) system that needed a big upfront investment. WebRTC, however, is making it possible to embed audio and visual communications in browsers without the need for any plugins. All that is required is a browser, microphone and speakers, all of which come as standard on any modern laptop, desktop, smartphone or tablet. It is therefore much quicker and easier for users to start one on one, or multi-user web communications, doing so by clicking a link or dedicated button. This opens up a whole array of collaborative opportunities beyond the confines of the financial organisation.

Voice verification

With the introduction of biometric technology with voice recognition and touch ID fingerprint reading sensors, mobile phone makers have popularised the technology, putting incredibly powerful and disruptive technology into the hands of millions. Banks and financial firms worldwide are now trying to take advantage of this technology.

Indeed, as we move to a more connected, online world, we need a more effective, sustainable way to securely prove who we are, and because of this shift, voice verification biometrics solutions are providing really innovative automated, digital and self service options. Particularly in banking, it is changing the way we manage banking security. This technology has become increasingly sophisticated, and today’s tools are able to identify the tone and cadence of the person’s voice; an audio fingerprint that can be used to prove with the highest possible accuracy that the speaker is who they claim to be.

For example, a customer can make a purchase using a bank’s of fintech’s application or product. Before the transaction is confirmed, the customer will receive an automatic call to verify it is them making the purchase via voice verification biometrics. It streamlines the authentication process by removing the need for a human operator all together; it removes the need for complex passwords and PINs; and it prevents the information obtained from data breaches from being used.

The majority of banks have already begun their digital journeys and are adopting technologies such as WebRTC and voice verification to optimise their digital communications. As this continues, banks will begin to lead the way in meeting market demands and will, as such, become much more agile, efficient and forward-thinking.