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A bank’s ESG record depends on how its technology is built

Source: Finance Derivative

By Tony Coleman, CTO, Temenos

ESG (environmental, social, and corporate governance) has become mission-critical for banks, from meeting regulatory obligations to aligning with customer values to win market share. 

Many banks have turned to technology to manage their ESG position. But technology is not a panacea. It also presents a risk that banks fall short of their ESG targets. 

Technology that greens

Let’s look at the environmental pillar. Run on-premises or in a private datacentre, technology can be a big consumer of carbon. But deployed with the right infrastructure partners, it can enable banks to reduce their carbon footprint. Cloud is the best example of this. Banks that outsource their computing infrastructure to the public cloud hyperscalers can benefit from their economies of scale and energy efficient build principles. 

The geographical spread and scale of these datacentres allows for carbon-aware computing, which involves shifting compute to times and places where the carbon intensity of the grid results in lower carbon emissions. One study of Microsoft’s cloud infrastructure concluded its datacentres emit 98% less carbon than traditional enterprise IT sites. These hyperscalers have a focussed mindset and the deep pockets to match. The new Graviton3 processors that AWS is now installing in its public datacentres, which claims to use 60% less energy than the standard X86 models that have been in wide circulation, is an example of the progress that only a hyperscaler can achieve.

The green benefits ‘of the cloud’ are enhanced by software purposefully built to run ‘in the cloud’. Software vendors that are committed to decarbonising their solutions in the build phase pass those wins down the supply chain to banks. For example, the latest version of the Temenos Banking Cloud was built with a 12% improvement in carbon efficiency. How the software operates can have an even more profound benefit for banks. For example, banking software that runs ‘scale-to-zero’ protocols will automatically shut down or scale down availability according to demand for its service. This is one factor that has contributed to a 32% carbon efficiency improvement in the run time of the latest Temenos Banking Cloud release.

Collecting this evidence is not simply an internal tracking exercise. Regulations are reaching a point where publishing data against ESG targets will be legally mandated. In Europe the ECB and the Bank of England have launched climate risk stress tests to assess how prepared banks are for dealing with the shocks from climate risk. Meanwhile, initiatives like the UN-convened Net-Zero Banking Alliance (representing over 40% of global banking assets), the Glasgow Financial Alliance for Net Zero and ​​the Principles for Responsible Banking add to the clamour for banks to evidence their progress. Tracking ‘Scope 3 emissions’, which includes all indirect emissions that are not owned or controlled by the bank, is the next phase. Recognising this, Temenos has developed a carbon emissions calculator, which gives our customers deeper insight into carbon emissions data associated with their consumption of Temenos Banking Cloud services.

The same concept can be extended to a bank’s customers, with carbon calculators and automated offsetting schemes that help people build towards their personal environmental goals. Doing so brings a bank’s green credentials into the public sphere, turning environmental initiatives into commercial opportunity.

(Box-out)

Flowe, a cloud-enabled digital bank built on green principles, launched in June 2020. It is the first bank in Italy to be certified as a B-Corp and has been able to maintain its overall carbon footprint close to zero, saving 90.81% – 96.06% in MTCO2e emissions compared to the on-premise alternative. Within six months of launch, 600,000 mainly young Italians had become customers, at one point onboarding 19 new customers per second. This rapid launch and growth was only possible with the agility and scalability of cloud. Read more about this story.

Technology that reaches

Cloud also enables financial inclusion, a key tenet of ESG ambitions. Today, anyone with a mobile phone and internet connection can access banking services. With elastic scalability and software automation, banks have an almost limitless capacity to serve more customers. And they might not be where you think; 4.5% of US households (approximately 5.9 million) were “unbanked” in 2021. In the past, banks would have seen them as unprofitable targets. But as cloud and the associated automations cut go-to-market and operational costs, the commercial case for inclusion becomes stronger. 

Embedded finance gives banks another avenue of reach. Via simple APIs, banks can provide their solutions to non-financial businesses. This ready-made audience might otherwise take years to reach through a bank’s own marketing and sale channels. The embedded finance market is set to be worth $183 billion globally in 2027. That can be seen as a proxy of greater financial inclusion. 

AI offers another opportunity to improve financial inclusion. Armed with AI, banks can deliver highly personalised products and experiences for customers. People can be directed to the most appropriate investments, including funds that promote sustainability and loans made with a better understanding of the applicant’s ability to pay it back. ZestAI (previously Zest Finance), a leading provider of AI-powered credit underwriting, claims that banks using its software see a 20%- 30% increase in credit approval rates and a 30-40% reduction in defaults. 

But mismanaged, AI can have a dark side. If the data used to train them has bias, systems will perpetuate these discriminations. This can lead to unequal access to financial services and unjust or irresponsible credit decisions. In a study conducted by UC Berkeley, Latin and African-American borrowers were found to pay 7.9 and 3.6 basis points more in interest for home-purchase and refinance mortgages respectively, representing $765 million in extra interest per year. What’s more, AI algorithms are often complex and difficult to understand, so it is hard for customers to challenge decisions and for regulators to enforce compliance.

ESG by design

So how do banks reconcile the ESG benefits of technology with the risks? The answer is in how the technology is built; or more specifically, in the principle of ESG by design.  

ESG by design is the concept of incorporating environmental, social, and governance factors into new technology and software features from the outset. The desired outcome is that the solution’s architecture, functions and UX enable ESG optimisation. But it is enabled with a commitment that all decisions taken through the design and build phase are judged through the lens of ESG criteria and targets. 

At Temenos, ESG by design is a core principle to how we build technology. Let’s unpick what that means in practice, with some examples.

  • Shift-left is how we systematically embed ESG into our banking software services. It means estimating the potential carbon footprint of a new project from the start, and then working back to mitigate it at every stage. The same goes for usability, compliance, and other factors that impact ESG. Detecting and addressing issues earlier in the development process is more effective than taking remedial actions after the event, which risks both compromising the efficacy of the solution and increasing the cost and time of the development lifecycle. 
  • If there’s a choice to be made, banks should make it. Though ESG goals align with most bank’s commercial aspirations (i.e less carbon equals less cost, more choice and better experiences equals more customers) it is not binary. Banks will have varying appetites of commitment to ESG. Take scale-to-zero, which I referred to earlier. Limiting service availability and adding latency impacts the customer experience and regulatory SLAs, such as payment processing speeds. 

The optimum balance is not a call for us, as the technology vendor, to make. Instead we give banks the parameters and configurabilities to make the choice themself. This higher degree of control encourages banks to (a) use carbon-aware computing solutions, and (b) engage with the technology with more purpose.

  • Use technology to improve technology. Humans are fallible. AI is only as good as the people that program it. Their biases become the system’s biases. But the black box nature of many AI systems means that these biases go unnoticed. At Temenos we embed an explainable component to our AI tools (XAI). It allows us and our banking clients to understand how AI decisions have been made, and in doing so surfaces flaws that can be fixed. We extend this capability to a bank’s customers, allowing them to interrogate and challenge decisions.
  • The complex supply chains in technology makes ESG a collaborative effort. The work we do at Temenos to support banks with their ESG goals would be undermined if our partners didn’t share our same commitment. That means working with hyperscalers and partners in our ecosystem, and opening ourself up to third party validation. We did just that, using an independent carbon calculation platform (GoCodeGreen) to assess our carbon efficiency. I shared the evidence earlier; a 32% carbon efficiency improvement in the run time of the latest Temenos Cloud release, and a 12% improvement in build time. These are the sort of independently verified data points that banks should be asking their technological providers to submit. 

Collaboration also means being honest about what others can do better, and enabling their innovations. The Temenos Exchange has almost 120 vendors that are continually extending and improving our core solutions. These include Bud, an AI capability that drives highly personalised experiences for lending and money management; and Greenomy, that makes it easier for banks to capture sustainability data and report on it.

Conclusion

ESG by design is an holistic approach to all tenets of ESG: energy efficiency, financial inclusion, transparency and accountable governance. By working with technology partners that elevate ESG to a core design principle, banks can recognise a wide range of commercial opportunities and ensure compliance with evolving regulations. That should make ESG a core selection criteria of software vendors. Banks will want to find the evidence that their technology partners are as serious about ESG as they are; and that they have the design and build practices that bring these to life.

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Business

Empowering banks to protect consumers: The impact of the APP Fraud mandate

Source: Finance Derivative

Thara Brooks, Market Specialist, Fraud, Financial Crime & Compliance at FIS

On the 7th October last year, the APP (Authorised Push Payment) fraud reimbursement mandate came into effect in the UK. The mandate aims to protect consumers, but it has already come under immense scrutiny, receiving both support and criticism from all market sectors. But what does it mean for banks and their customers?

Fraud has become a growing concern for the UK banking system and its consumers. According to the ICAEW, the total value of UK fraud stood at £2.3bn in 2023, a 104% increase since 2022, with estimates that the evolution of AI will lead to even bigger challenges. As the IMF points out, greater digitalisation brings greater vulnerabilities, at a time when half of UK consumers are already “obsessed” with checking their banking apps and balances.

These concerns have contributed to the implementation of the PSR’s (Payment Systems Regulator) APP fraud mandate, which was implemented to reimburse the victims of APP fraud. APP fraud occurs when somebody is tricked into authorising a payment from their own bank account. Unlike more traditional fraud, such as payments made from a stolen bank card, APP fraud previously fell outside the scope of conventional fraud protection, as the transaction is technically “authorised” by the victim.

The £85,000 Debate: A controversial adjustment

The regulatory framework for the APP fraud mandate was initially introduced in May 2022. The maximum level of mandatory reimbursement was originally set at £415,000 per claim. The PSR significantly reduced the maximum reimbursement value to £85,000 when the mandate came into effect, however, causing widespread controversy.

According to the PSR, the updated cap will see over 99% of claims (by volume) being covered, with an October review highlighting just 18 instances of people being scammed for more than £415,000, and 411 instances of more than £85,000, from a total of over 250,000 cases throughout 2023. “Almost all high value scams are made up of multiple smaller transactions,” the PSR explains, “reducing the effectiveness of transaction limits as a tool to manage exposure.”

The reduced cap makes a big difference on multiple levels. For financial institutions and payment service providers (PSPs), the lower limit means they’re less exposed to high-value claims. The reduced exposure to unlimited high-value claims has the potential to lower compliance and operational costs, while the £85,000 cap aligns with the Financial Services Compensation Scheme (FSCS) threshold, creating broader consistency across financial redress schemes.

There are naturally downsides to the lower limit, with critics highlighting significant financial shortfalls for victims of high-value fraud. The lower cap may reduce public confidence in the financial system’s ability to protect against fraud, particularly for those handling large sums of money, while small businesses, many of which often deal with large transaction amounts, may find the cap insufficient to cover losses.

The impact on PSPs and their customers

With PSPs responsible for APP fraud reimbursement, institutions need to take the next step when it comes to fraud detection and prevention to minimise exposure to claims within the £85,000 cap. Customers of all types are likely to benefit from more robust security as a result.

The Financial Conduct Authority’s (FCA’s) recommendations include strengthening controls during onboarding, improving transaction monitoring to detect suspicious activity, and optimising reporting mechanisms to enable swift action. Such controls are largely in line with the PSR’s own recommendations, with the institution setting out a number of steps in its final policy statement in December 2023 to mitigate APP scam risks.

These include setting appropriate transaction limits, improving ‘know your customer’ controls, strengthening transaction-monitoring systems and stopping or freezing payments that PSPs consider to be suspicious for further investigation.

All these measures will invariably improve consumer experience, increasing customers’ confidence to transact online safely, as well as giving them peace of mind with quicker reimbursement in case things go awry.

Going beyond the APP fraud mandate

If the PSR’s mandate can steer financial institutions towards implementing more robust security practices, it can only be a good thing. It’s not the only tool that’s shaping the financial security landscape, however.

In October 2024, the UK government introduced new legislation granting banks enhanced powers to combat fraud. An optional £100 excess on fraud claims has been introduced to encourage customer caution and combat moral hazards, while the Treasury has strengthened prevention measures by handing out new powers to high street banks to delay and investigate payments suspected of being fraudulent by 3 days. The extended processing time for suspicious payments may lead to delays in legitimate transactions, making transparent communication and robust safeguards essential to maintain consumer trust.

Further collaborative efforts, such as Meta’s partnership with UK banks through the Fraud Intelligence Reciprocal Exchange (FIRE) program, can also aid the fight against fraud. Thanks to direct intelligence sharing between financial institutions and the world’s biggest social media platform, FIRE enhances the detection and removal of fraudulent accounts across platforms such as Facebook and Instagram, not only disrupting scam operations, but also fostering a safer digital environment for users. The early stages of the pilot have led to action against thousands of scammer-operated accounts, with approximately 20,000 accounts removed based on shared data.

Additionally, education and awareness are crucial measures to protect consumers against APP fraud. Several high street banks have upgraded their banking channels to share timely content about the signs of potential scams, with increased public awareness helping consumers identify and avoid fraudulent schemes.

Improvements in policing strategies are also significantly contributing to the mitigation of APP fraud. Specialized fraud units within police forces have enhanced the precision and efficiency of investigations. The City of London Police and the National Fraud Intelligence Bureau are upgrading the technology for Action Fraud, providing victims with a more accessible and customer-friendly service. Collaborative efforts among police, banks, and telecommunications firms, exemplified by the work of the Dedicated Card and Payment Crime Unit (DCPCU), have enabled the swift exchange of information, facilitating the prompt apprehension of scammers.

How AI is expected to change the landscape

The coming months will be critical in assessing these changes, as institutions, businesses and the UK government work together to shape security against fraud in the ever-changing world of finance.

While fraud is a terrifyingly big business, it’s only likely to increase with the evolution of AI, making it even more critical that such changes are effective. According to PwC, “There is a real risk that hard-fought improvements in fraud defences could be undone if the right measures are not put in place to defend against fraud in an AI-enabled world.”

Chatbots can be used as part of phishing scams, for example, and AI systems can already read text and reproduce sampled voices, making it possible to send messages from “relatives” whose voices have been spoofed in a similar manner to deepfakes.

Along with other innovations, tools and collaborations, however, the APP fraud mandate, UK legislation and FIRE can all contribute towards redressing such technological advances. Together, this can give financial institutions a much-needed boost in the fight against fraud, providing a more secure future for customers.

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Business

After the tax deadline: Next steps for accountancy firms

Source: Finance Derivative

By Cameron Ford, UK General Manager of Silverfin

For many accountancy firms, tax season has ended. Now, leaders have a chance to reflect on their firm’s performance, how their people are feeling after the busiest period of the year, and consider how they might optimise people, processes and technology for the future.

As a former CFO with experience in senior accountancy roles across multiple firms, I know first-hand the challenges the year-end crunch presents. The intense weeks and months leading up to HMRC deadlines put immense pressure on infrastructure, exposing the limitations of legacy systems and the bottlenecks caused by manual workflows.

The post-busy-season presents a valuable opportunity to reassess and prepare for the next one. It’s also a time for firms to reflect on evolving client needs and proactively take action to deliver improved future outcomes. Firms should also evaluate whether their current technology is alleviating pressure during peak periods – or adding to the strain.

The risk of inaction

We are living in an era of profound technological change and fast-paced innovation. Firms that fail to evolve with the times will be left behind as more flexible and adaptive competitors race forward. The risk for slow movers is not just reduced competitiveness – its industry consolidation locking them out altogether.

For today’s leaders, the choice is no longer whether to transform – but which technologies to adopt. Accountancy firms now have access to an extensive array of powerful solutions. Data analytics tools are delivering insights to power better decision-making. Automation is streamlining workflows, reducing errors and freeing up valuable time to focus on strategic tasks. And the demand for fast, secure access to accurate and timely data is only growing.

Yet, as accountancy technology matures, new challenges are emerging that extend beyond traditional tech solutions as regulators become increasingly zealous. In the UK alone, two-thirds of current business taxes were introduced in the past decade, according to Thomson Reuters. That’s 13 out of 19 business taxes. The sheer pace of regulatory innovation demonstrates the need for accountancy firms to be agile and capable of transforming at speed, as their clients face an ever evolving and intricate tax landscape.

Future success depends on equipping firms with the ability to meet the demands of both customers and regulators, striking a balance that not only satisfies current expectations but also lays the groundwork for evolving future requirements.

Growing complexity

Corporate tax management illustrates the complex nature of today’s accounting landscape. Changing regulations, new post-Brexit tax requirements and global initiatives – such as the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development’s (OECD) Pillar Two, which introduces a global minimum corporate tax rate of 15% – are placing unprecedented demands on tax and accounting professionals.

The most effective response is to adopt specialised software that is designed to manage compliance and evolving regulatory requirements. While adopting new technology can seem daunting, it should be seen as an opportunity, not an obstacle. Yes, there may be initial friction and deployment challenges during the early stages of transformation, but these are temporary. As firms adapt to new tools and workflows, they unlock significant benefits – including streamlined processes, improved accuracy, and the ability to stay ahead of future changes in an increasingly dynamic tax environment.

AI transformation 

AI is rapidly emerging as a game-changing technology for many industries, including accountancy. It’s true value lies in acting as a partner and collaborator, taking on the heavy lifting of repetitive manual tasks, freeing up valuable hours so accountants have more time to focus on building stronger client relationships.

To be effective, AI relies on accurate real-time financial data that is easily accessed and stored in a standardised format. But before even considering training a model, firms must solve their lingering data issues. With multiple bookkeeping and large volumes of inconsistent and duplicated data, firms often struggle to extract meaningful insights.

Resolving these issues requires integrating data from various bookkeeping systems using techniques such as cloud syncs and AI enrichment tools. Data must also be stored in a unified format, properly catalogued and free from duplication to maximise its value.

By deploying AI on a foundation of clean, reliable and up-to-date data, accountancy firms can enhance their performance during peak seasons and better manage the pressures of increased demand. Plus, digital transformation and the deployment of advanced accountancy and compliance software also put firms in a stronger position to respond to new complexities and challenges that will inevitably emerge in this dynamic marketplace.

Peak season may be over, but now it’s time to plan for the next one, anticipating customer needs and proactively adapting to shifting demands.

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Business

Future-proofing financial services investment

Source: Finance Derivative

Adrian Ah-Chin-Kow, Global Commercial Director at leading software escrow company, Escode, discusses how the financial services sector can prepare for the increasing investment ahead of the government’s industrial growth strategy, Invest 2035, ensuring resilience against technological risks.

The UK’s proposed Invest 2035 strategy sets a bold vision: to elevate the UK as a global leader in high-growth sectors. Financial services are at the heart of this roadmap, tasked with driving innovation, sustainability, and competitiveness. But as we look towards the future, it’s critical that the sector strikes a careful balance between embracing strategic investments and maintaining operational resilience in the face of an increasingly complex technological risk landscape.

The digital transformation currently underway in financial services is set to accelerate even further as organisations adopt new technologies like artificial intelligence, blockchain, and cloud computing. These innovations hold immense potential for growth and efficiency, but they also introduce new layers of vulnerability. For financial services to thrive in this environment, firms need to ensure their technology infrastructure is resilient, reliable, and capable of withstanding disruption.

Growing risks in a digital-first world
As government and industry push forward with initiatives to digitise the financial services ecosystem, the sector is becoming more dependent on technology than ever before. With this reliance comes the inevitable rise of new risks—risks that can threaten operations, customer trust, and even the stability of markets.

We’ve seen first-hand the consequences of technology disruptions in this space. When key software providers experience outages or security breaches, the ripple effect can be significant, disrupting not just the companies involved but entire networks of financial institutions that depend on those systems. The impacts of such disruptions, particularly in a sector where reliability is paramount, can extend beyond the immediate downtime, eroding investor confidence and creating long-term reputational damage.

In a world that is becoming more interconnected by the day, it’s crucial that financial services organisations are prepared for these challenges. Protecting against technology failures and ensuring business continuity must be top priorities for any firm that wants to remain competitive in the years to come.

Operational resilience: The foundation of future growth
The ability to withstand and recover from disruption is at the core of what will define successful financial services firms in the future. Operational resilience is no longer just a regulatory requirement—it’s a business imperative that builds trust with investors, customers, and stakeholders. The strategies needed to build this resilience are varied, but there are a few critical components every organisation should consider.

  • Software Escrow: As financial institutions increasingly depend on digital tools, software escrow becomes a fundamental safeguard. We know how crucial escrow agreements are for protecting access to essential tools. If a provider fails or encounters insolvency, escrow ensures that critical software and intellectual property (IP) are held securely by a third party, ready to be released to the firm. In a sector where continuous access to technology is crucial, this arrangement offers peace of mind, ensuring core operations are protected from unexpected interruptions.
  • Stress-testing and Business Continuity: Regular stress-testing and comprehensive business continuity plans are essential components of any resilience strategy. By simulating disruptions, firms can identify weaknesses in their operations and put in place measures to address them. Continuity planning ensures that businesses can continue to operate, even under extreme circumstances, helping to mitigate the impacts of unanticipated events and minimise disruption to clients and markets.
  • Collaborative Resilience Standards: The interconnectivity of today’s financial ecosystem demands industry-wide standards. We’ve seen collaboration across both the private sector and with government initiatives become increasingly important. The UK’s Invest 2035 strategy offers an excellent foundation for fostering these partnerships, helping to establish resilience as a shared priority across the sector. We’re already seeing frameworks like the EU’s Digital Operational Resilience Act (DORA) lead the way in embedding resilience into the financial services supply chain. This kind of regulatory guidance helps institutions understand how to manage risks effectively, reducing overreliance on third-party providers and ensuring that firms can respond quickly to disruptions.

Collectively, these strategies reinforce the importance of being proactive rather than reactive when it comes to risk management. Operational resilience isn’t just about surviving the next crisis—it’s about building a foundation for long-term stability and growth in a rapidly changing environment.

Resilience as the key to securing Invest 2035
As we move towards Invest 2035, operational resilience will be the cornerstone of success. The financial services sector plays a pivotal role in driving economic growth and innovation, and its ability to adapt and respond to disruption will be key to maintaining the UK’s competitiveness on the global stage.

Embracing proactive resilience measures is the key to future success. By incorporating solutions like software escrow, stress-testing, and government-backed collaboration into their operational strategies, financial institutions can secure the UK’s position as a competitive, reliable investment hub.

Looking to the future, the ability to navigate these risks while maintaining operational integrity will determine whether financial services can continue to be the engine of economic growth in the UK. With the right safeguards in place, the sector can not only meet the goals of Invest 2035 but also build a reputation as a safe and dependable destination for global investment.

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