The Atos Expert View on Digital Banking: Smarter, Greener and Safer

Carlos von Prabucki, Head of Financial Services and Insurance, Southern Europe, Atos

Digital adoption will make banking smarter, greener and safer. In this piece we highlight some of the key emerging trends and the essential Atos expert views you need to be aware of.

There can be no doubt that the digital trajectory that banking was on when we reached the start of the 2020s has only been turbo-charged by the extraordinary times we have all lived through as we approach the end of 2021.

As we bring to life in this latest piece of Atos thought leadership, the global bases of banking are now well signposted and understood. Since the onset of the Covid-19 pandemic, 60% of banks globally have closed or shortened opening hours of branches, but many have also implemented new digital features, such as fully digital processes. And as we show, the C-suite understands the digital future to come, with 77% of banking executives believing that AI will be the most important technological change to the banking.

A digital future of banking will also be a greener future. That is evidenced by initiatives like the Net-Zero Banking Alliance which is bringing together 53 banks from 27 countries representing almost a quarter of global banking assets (over $37 trillion) to decarbonize our industry. As a Dow Jones Sustainability Index leader in decarbonization, Atos is committed to working with our banking customers to implement the solutions they require to fulfill net zero ambitions.

With digital banking meaning both smarter and greener banking there is a great deal to be positive about if we look at the opportunities in front of us. However, in a digital society, we can never afford to be complacent, and that is why the third component we talk about – safer banking – is so very crucial. There has been a 238% increase in cyber-attack on banks since the start of the Covid-19 pandemic and it is for this reason that trusted, world class cybersecurity for banks is paramount. Atos is an established cybersecurity leader and our know how is essential to keeping banks, and their customers, safe on their digital journeys.

Our Digital Vision: Digital Banking paper aims to help anyone with any interest in this area navigate and understand the world of digital banking as it is today and will be in the years ahead. To get a real sense of how we at Atos are making banker smarter, greener and safer, I want to highlight three key pieces for you from Atos’ own expert contributors.

Smarter banking

Nowhere is the demand for digital banking higher right now than in North America. This is a region where Atos already has a significant footprint – and we have a range of upcoming solutions that will expand that offer further. My colleague Carol Houle sets this out further along with some our existing best practice in her piece Digital transformation in action: Atos in North America.

Greener banking

With COP26 now just round the corner, much corporate effort is focused on a net zero future. The banking sector can play a huge role in this, we set out how, and Atos’ own contribution in the essential article How banks can lead the way on the race toward net zero and make decarbonization banking sense.

Safer banking

A bank’s digital journey and security go hand-in-hand. It is impossible to have one without the other. As we are all too aware, threats are manifest and abundant wherever we look, so having the right systemic approach to defending key digital banking assets is critical. My colleague Ian Cole sets all this out in his piece Why banking is more vulnerable than ever before – the cyber threats to defend against.