Isn’t it time internet banking adapted to the digital age? asks Tim Dunton, MD of the web hosting company Nimbus Hosting.
It is no secret that as a society we have rapidly transitioned into a digital era with cutting edge technology operating our businesses, public services and critical infrastructure. Powerful consumer software is now readily available and easily accessible to everyone, and the internet, mobile phones and use of apps dominate much of our free time. As a result, print correspondence via posted letters and paper bank statements seems increasingly out of date – and the British consumers are looking to access services like online banking at the touch of a button.
In fact, recent research has shown that consumers who rely on internet and mobile banking services has almost doubled over the last decade. Despite this being a relatively new service, it has been estimated that 72pc of the UK adult population will use mobile banking apps by 2023. This is hardly surprising – internet banking users can check their balance, manage their affairs and transfer large sums of money in seconds, benefiting from around-the-clock access to all their account information.
Unfortunately, despite these wonderful new apps, many fundamental problems still persist, hindering customer service. This means that for many customers, the stability of many major internet and mobile banking apps and services are perceived to be considerably below par. A new report from Which? Money recently found that British banks are being hit by IT or security failures that prevent customers from making payments at an average rate of more than once a day – with a total of 302 incidents in the last nine months of 2018. The report also found that six of the UK’s biggest banks had at least one failure every two weeks. To put it simply, the services consumers have been promised are not being provided. In an era where everything is on-demand and online, being locked out of your bank account for an extended period of time can equal serious problems for businesses and has understandably led to frustration from the millions who have been affected.
Often in a fast paced business environment, a missed or late payment can lead to detrimental consequences. Failure to pay a service or credit provider for example, can lead to a huge fine, damaged credit rating or increased interest rates. Therefore, having to rely on unreliable internet services is starting to become a huge concern for business leaders and it is time banks begin to take more responsibility and invest in safe, secure and reliable website platforms.
However, it is not just glitches in IT servers that render the service useless for millions of users at a time – often there is a problem in an internet banking system’s infrastructure. Algorithms and AI can lock out a user without any explanation, revoking any rights to access a given bank account. This can be seen as a good thing; improving cybersecurity measures and ensuring malicious threats are stopped in their tracks should always be at the forefront of any service providers concern. However, it’s clear that the financial services industry is still failing to provide a fully capable and efficient IT system in this regard.
In fact, it was only recently reported that Barclays refused a young British entrepreneur access to his own account for two months, causing his million-pound business to come dangerously close to bankruptcy. This is not just a one-off occurrence either; Telegraph Money recently disclosed that complaints to the Financial Ombudsman Service from customers locked out of accounts had risen by a fifth in just 12 months – further anchoring the accusation that the financial services industry is lagging behind in terms of the IT service that is provided to customers.
Therefore, it is becoming increasingly clear that banks and financial service providers should invest in high quality cloud web hosting. This simple transition to an updated web hosting platform, with powerful and flexible cloud support, will not only see improved website reliability, but also increased efficiencies and speed. Also, with the correct IT infrastructure in place, safely managed by an efficient web hosting platform, the banks will see a drastic reduction in their online downtime.
Another problem that is still prevalent as a result of the unpredictability of internet banking, is the security of our confidential information. Many banks are neglecting to update their systems and at the end of 2018, a total of 14 major banks were not adhering to the encryption standards required by the banking industry. If this continues, many more people might find themselves as victims of the fastest growing form of crime in the 21st century – cybercrime.
However, it is arguably the banks and financial service providers that are impacted the most by faulty IT servers, unstable systems, and glitches. Cyber-attacks, breached customer information and IT downtime are often followed by hefty fines, a tarnished image in the media and a mass disruption to its customers. Therefore, it remains a mystery as to why web hosting services are not improved and replaced with reliable, secure systems which solves problems quickly and securely, at the same time evading the risk of human or computer error.
Of course, it is not just the financial services industry that is affected by IT system failure – but, banks will always be the target of cybercrime, due to the vast amount of sensitive information that exists on their servers. At the same time, IT downtime in the financial services industry will always be met with uproar from the media and the public, simply because of how essential our personal finances are to our everyday lives, and access to it is not a want but a must. Therefore, a drastic reduction in IT system failures, glitches and cyber security breaches must become UK banks’ number one priority as we head into the next financial year.
