Open banking can offer opportunities for retail banks that are faced with competition from newcomers to the banking and finance industry. For those unfamiliar with what open banking is, it can be best defined as “the use of open APIs that enable third-party developers (FinTech or non-banking service providers) to provide applications and services around the financial institution.” These services may be located between the customer and the bank, or placed in the bank’s bank-end.

The need for certain encryption technology features can vary from company to company, depending on their individual needs for securing their data. The recent Ponemon Institute survey, Global Encryption Trends Study, showed that some encryption features are considered more essential than others when considering an encryption solution, especially for strong key management purposes.

In response to changing and more dynamic market demands, banks and financial institutions are turning into financial service platforms. They increase the extent of their digital transformations across the hybrid cloud, guided by three motivating factors:

This article discusses the need for retail banks to continue moving forward with their digital transformation in the age of COVID-19 and explains why cryptography (when done right) can be a key enabler of a successful self-disruption process.

This article explores the concept of financial service platforms and aligns resulting business (process) goals with the necessary crypto architecture. We have a particular look at the integration of MS Dynamics and MS Azure, as it is a rapidly growing service extension platform for many banks.

Securely managing cryptographic keys is typically the most difficult part of encryption. In the recent Ponemon Institute survey, Global Encryption Trends Study, the following nine types of keys were identified as the most difficult to manage:

Many organizations struggle with cryptographic key management for multiple reasons. However, these pain points can be resolved with the right tools.

For traditional banks to rise above the competition they face from big tech, neobanks, and fintechs, they need to add new digital skills to their traditional banking capabilities; positioning themselves as agile providers of financial services by providing demand-driven services at the right time and place.

The cloud services provided by Microsoft Dynamics 365 are gaining rapid market share in the banking world. A burning question for the security departments is how to take advantage of the cloud services on offer without relinquishing control of their cryptographic keys.