Retail banking has been unrecognizably transformed by digitization. Everything from payments to basic credit products can now be availed digitally. However, when it comes to corporate or business banking, the pace has just not been the same. One good example of this is the process of trade which includes both vanilla open account transactions and trades secured via documentary credit products.

The last few months have been exciting for all stakeholders involved in the implementation and use of the eIDAS toolbox. Some important milestones have been reached and new initiatives are taking off. However, to really increase the uptake of eIDAS enabled services, a three-pronged approach is needed to really bolster the main growth drivers. This approach is based on the feedback received from the various respondents in a recent ENISA survey and its accompanying report.  

A study published in early 2018 by the European Union Agency for Network and Information Security (ENISA), revealed that 90% of the respondents believed eIDAS to be an opportunity to grow their business. It is no wonder then that recent adoption of the eIDAS framework has been gathering steam. However, there are still a number of barriers that exist when it comes to the implementation and uptake of Trust Services as defined in the eIDAS regulation. Here, we look at some of those barriers along with some key strengths of the trust services market.

In a recent article, we looked at how eIDAS can help SMEs grow and prosper. SMEs are undoubtedly the lifeblood of any economy which means that EU initiatives must cater to their specific needs. The previous article looked at how eIDAS can address the security needs of SMEs while reducing their regulatory burden and allowing them to focus on their core competencies.

However, SMEs have a unique set of challenges as well. Today, we look at some of the challenges unique to SMEs and how those challenges may be overcome to ensure that SMEs can benefit from eIDAS enabled tools to the maximum extent possible.

In Part 1 of our series, we covered some simple case studies from the financial services sector and the logistics and trade sector. We looked at possible implementations of some eIDAS enabled tools and how companies can get the most mileage out of their investments into those tools. Today, we look at eCommerce – a sector that is no stranger to digital tools – and the professional services sector.

The eIDAS Regulation has been designed with an aim to optimize digital business practices while simultaneously enhancing security for all users. It allows for better cross border operational compatibility and improves the flow of information which makes the modern economy tick. We have discussed many such aspects of eIDAS in previous articles, but in this two-part series we explore some real-world applications through a few case studies. Here we look at how businesses in the finance and logistics sectors can benefit from the various tools that eIDAS provides.

The financial services sector has always been an early adopter of technology. This is not surprising considering the nature of the industry with high volumes, the need to complete transactions as quickly as possible, mountains of data, minimum tolerance for errors and multiple points of failure. A zero-tolerance compliance/regulatory environment, coupled with considerable inertia in the banking system further necessitates the need to use tech tools to their full potential. This reliance on technology by the financial services sector is perhaps why the FinTech start-ups are in so much demand.

Trade is the lifeblood of the global economy. And Trade Finance is what greases the cogs of international trade. The last few decades of globalization have meant that supply chains have become global.

Small and Medium Enterprises form the backbone of any economy. In the European Union, SMEs represent 99% of all businesses and account for an astounding 85% of job growth. Providing the best environment for these SMEs to thrive and prosper thus becomes pivotal for any country. The EU has a tradition of promoting entrepreneurship and leads the pack when it comes to ease of doing business, access to finance, having a strong legal framework, a robust regulatory environment and a variety of other support structures.