A banking conference held in the city has rightly focussed on digital crimes the country's banks are now fighting to avoid. Private banks, in particular, are on a steady course - opting for a paradigm shift in banking in order to serve their clients better. There was no alternative to going digital as fast as they could and their customers started enjoying the many advantages of the digitised system. But now this system is facing a challenge of maintaining security of customers' identities, pass words, pin numbers etc. Technological advantages are threatened to be undermined and even overwhelmed by digital theft and forgery. It is so, because fraudsters always stay a few steps ahead of the accepted systems. Life made so easy by digitised banking now finds itself on the edge of a precipice and unless a foolproof security is found for customers, there is a chance of the whole system's breakdown.
Hopefully, such a nightmarish scenario could be avoided by opting for more advanced technology. One positive suggestion made during deliberations in the conference refers to the introduction of biometric automated teller machines (ATMs). As against pin-based ATMs, which can be deciphered by criminals with advanced knowledge in digital technology like the website hackers, a biometric ATM uses several features not easily accessible. The key issue here is authentication and the biometric type uses several characteristics for the purpose. The present version has been rendered unsafe by digital hackers involved in banking crimes. Depositors' savings will be exposed to some risks because of this ATM's vulnerability. So experts have strongly recommended a switchover to the biometric version of ATMs. But a switchover to this version is going to prove very costly. Yet the new technology has to be embraced in order to not only guarantee safety of depositors' money but also to restore trust in the minds of clients. And the key factor for banking success is trust or credibility.
In this context, there is a need for adaptability to advanced technology both by banking staff and customers. Do the banks have their own pool of techno-savvy security teams? Perhaps not. Here is a highly specialised job that calls for the most advanced technological expertise. Whether each bank can go for such capacity building right at the present moment is doubtful. Maybe, it will be possible if the Bangladesh Bank (BB) works out a plan for developing a central contingent which will help devise a plan for maintenance of proper safety of deposits with banks and advise when an emergency arises.
Banks with greater financial muscles are expected to develop gradually their own safety modes and teams. No matter how advanced the system is, the teams will have to be constantly on their guard. Vigilance is the name of the game, so far as financial transactions are concerned. Similarly, the best defence against financial crimes is constant monitoring and scrutiny of the system. A digital system has the capacity to avoid human errors but it must not be forgotten that the system is operated by man. So capacity building will have to be a continual process.
Fighting digital crimes in banks
FE Team | Published: December 09, 2014 00:00:00 | Updated: November 30, 2026 06:01:00
Share if you like