What are the key learnings for banks from 2020?

As a leading European supplier of technological solutions for omnichannel banking and payments, Auriga couldn’t possibly miss the key industry events of the year, which all became virtual to adapt to COVID-19 restrictions.
We discussed how the ATM infrastructure, lean bank branches, and cybersecurity innovations are digitally transforming banks’ strategies.

The pandemic has created lots of questions around the future of banking and, of course, accelerated digital transformation. According to McKinsey’s research, COVID-19 has accelerated the digitisation of customer interactions by several years.
Auriga’s participation at ATMIA US Security, SSBA 2020, ATMIA Europe, Branch Transformation 2020, ATMIA Asia Pacific and BankSec 2020 has helped to tackle some of these questions one at a time.

People are now wondering what exactly the social purpose of banks is. To answer the question simply, it is to provide exceptional service and assurance of access to cash and banking services for all.

The bank branch is to be a safe and secure place. Whereas for businesses, banks are here to support and respond to their financial needs, as well as offer access to services to help them survive and thrive.

And finally, banks add value to the health and wellbeing of the whole community.

What will banks need in 2021?

In 2021, banks need to get closer to their customers by prioritising ways to improve customer loyalty and the overall user experience. Whilst at the same time banks must maintain accessibility to financial services where the demand is high and ensure access to cash in more remote areas.

Technology has a pivotal role in creating new streams of revenue and drive profitability, but banks must also cut unnecessary costs and maximise efficiency.

Auriga’s CEO, Vincenzo Fiore, deep-dived into the topic at Branch Transformation 2020. He believes as digitisation is getting faster, now is the time for banks to take a real lead and use innovative technology to redesign their customer engagement strategies. As well as to generate more value.

The next generation of branches may be smaller in number and scale, but they will be smarter, more customer-oriented, and better located. Here are the key characteristics of the #NextGenBranch model:

• Remote banking experience
• Complete bank service set
• 24/7 video banking
• Lower costs and increased revenues
• Space, device, and software will allow customers to independently access all services of their bank

At SSBA 2020, ATMIA Europe Virtual 2020 and ATMIA Asia Pacific, Auriga discussed how self-service models can be the basis of transformed branches and banks, whilst security of the modernised infrastructure is also key and non-negotiable.

Today’s global ATM infrastructure is not fit for the challenges of the 2020s and this must fundamentally change. Auriga is crucial to how the ATM has evolved, and we will be central to how self-service banking is transformed over the next decade or more.

Preventing cyber-attacks

At ATMIA US Security and BankSec 2020 we talked about how banks provide essential services that need to be available 24/7, 365 days a year, so it is critical that they’re safe from fraud. Cyber-attacks on critical devices are highly targeted and designed to spot any embedded software vulnerabilities.

Therefore, financial institutions must maximise efforts to keep up with this dynamic threat and avoid breaches of large databases. They must also comply with cybersecurity standards that guarantee the integrity of cloud services.

Auriga’s Lookwise Device Manager is seamlessly integrated into Auriga’s WWS software suite, allowing customers to benefit from full protection, security monitoring, and control of their networked devices critical to the business, such as ATMs, point of sale terminals, and critical infrastructure control systems.

Seeing that branches aren’t going to disappear anytime soon; banks need to leverage technology to enable end-to-end services and modernise their ATM infrastructures to adapt to the future. COVID-19 has accelerated digital transformation, but it doesn’t stop there.

We expect more white label branches, shared bank services, and state-of-the-art cybersecurity to play a pivotal role in the banking industry in the years to come.

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