Managing risks and rewards of a digitised global financial system

afr.com:

We are racing towards a future in which the global financial system will be predominantly digitised. Consumer expectations are increasingly demanding faster services covering loan approval, payment methods and settlements which are being delivered via the New Payments Platform and open banking reforms.

The rise of digital banking is rapidly changing the risk landscape. iStock

This will deliver convenience and lightning-fast payment speeds. But the rise of digital banking has also changed the risk landscape, adding complexity and raising the cost of compliance. It’s vital for businesses and the financial services sector to be prepared for the new, tech-driven financial landscape.

The cost of compliance can mean many things including the cost of innovating safely, reliance on trusted third parties, uplifting product governance and monitoring mechanisms, increasing resilience to navigate a more dynamic and possible vulnerable environment and of course the actual costs to comply with community and regulatory expectations.

It remains a critical imperative for banking to deliver services in a proven, credible and trustworthy manner.

While proven, credible and trustworthy are intangible features, these are crucial to consumer confidence and also in ensuring compliance with the ever growing community expectations and regulatory obligations.

Mark Burgess, managing director at Protiviti. 

Against this backdrop, banks and financial services institutions are undergoing remarkable transformation. They are evolving their infrastructure, customer service and user experiences and rethinking governance frameworks, processes, controls, operating models and culture.

“Increased digitisation can be a double edged sword,” says Mark Burgess,