By Maeson Maherry, COO at Ascertia
With the rising adoption of eSignatures and the acceleration of digital transformation, trust in digital systems is more important than ever before. As a recession looms, the ability to trust digital systems is critical to the stability and security of the banking and finance industry.
So, what should businesses prioritise in an increasingly online world? Information security, data integrity, and digital trust are crucial for ensuring regulatory compliance and customer satisfaction.
Digital trust is empowering banking and finance institutions to effectively tackle issues of identity theft and fraud.
What is digital trust?
On the surface, digital trust refers to a digital system or platform that is secure and can be relied upon to protect and properly handle sensitive information.
Building the confidence that people have in digital systems, platforms, and technologies to handle their sensitive information, protect them from fraud, and function as intended is paramount for decision-makers going forward.
Trust online encompasses various aspects, such as data security, privacy, authenticity and reliability. Digital trust also involves assessing the trustworthiness of digital entities such as websites, apps, and online services, as well as the trust in the integrity and reliability of digital communications and transactions.
Digital trust is a key element of digital transformation, the additional step to ensuring the digital systems in place are secure. This can include the following:
- Online banking platform for customers
- Digital document approvals and workflows
- Secure digital signature solutions
- Know your customer (KYC) checks
- Electronic anti-money laundering procedures
Why is digital trust important for banks?
One of the main reasons why digital trust is so important in banking and finance is that it helps to tackle issues of identity theft and fraud. Customers and regulators require reassurance that personal and financial data won’t fall into the wrong hands. This includes customer statements, investment authorisations, legal records and customer personal data.
Online banking is now well established but the technology continues to evolve and so do the potential threats to data security. With phishing and other identity theft a daily concern, establishing digital trust in the industry is key.
Digital trust provides a means to trust in the identity of a person or document online, to the same degree as meeting or signing in person. This requires additional checks and layers of security to verify identities and the security of documents.
The role of eSignatures in banking
Digital trust is vital in the secure implementation of eSignatures.
In the banking and finance industry, eSignatures are becoming increasingly popular as they allow for transactions to be conducted quickly and securely. However, for eSignatures to be effective and to provide digital trust, all parties involved must trust in the transaction. This is done by ensuring eSignatures are valid and that the person signing the document is who they claim to be.
There are global standards to ensure the authenticity of eSignatures for digital signing. This means there is a way to validate the digital trustworthiness of eSignatures if implemented and used in a manner that meets certain criteria for security and authenticity.
For instance, digital signatures that are compliant with internationally recognised standards, such as eIDAS (Electronic Identification and Trust Services) in Europe, can be considered digitally trustworthy. It’s important to understand not all eSignatures provide the same level of security and to ensure the correct eSignature is used for the purpose and security required.
eSignatures that use advanced digital signature technologies such as Public Key Infrastructure (PKI) or biometrics, can be considered more digitally trustworthy as they provide a higher level of security and authentication.
These technologies use cryptographic methods to ensure that the signature is unique to the signer and cannot be replicated or forged. These standards establish a legal framework for the use of electronic signatures and ensure that they are legally binding, enforceable and offer the same level of trust as traditional signatures.
How does digital trust prevent fraud?
If the public loses trust in digital systems, it could lead to a loss of confidence in the financial system. Fraud, in particular, is at the forefront of public concerns.
Digital signatures are well positioned to offset the risk of financial fraud, largely due to three critical factors when assessing the digital trust of an eSignature:
- Authentication: To verify the identity of the signer, eSignatures employ sophisticated technologies such as PKI. This confirms that the person signing the document is who they say they are and aids in preventing fraud through impersonation.
- Tamper-evident: Tamper-evident features are often included in high-trust eSignatures, which identify if a document has been changed after it has been signed. This helps to prevent fraud by identifying manipulated papers and giving an audit trail of the signature.
- Compliance: International standards such as eIDAS ensure that eSignatures are legally binding, enforceable, and provide the same level of trust as traditional signatures.
The banking industry specifically will benefit greatly from investing in digital trust ecosystems that include eSignatures, biometrics and encryption software to provide verification and assurance for customers.
In the future, financial institutions will adopt Know Your Transaction (KYT) as a means of implementing cybersecurity measures at the transaction level in their banking protocols.
By utilizing digital signatures at the transaction level and verifying them upon receipt, the financial industry can achieve KYT, ensuring that the source of information is under the control of the endpoint and that transaction information has not been tampered with.
This level of security will be a crucial aspect of achieving digital trust in the financial industry moving forward.
