In a recent press briefing, Finastra, one of the largest fintech companies in the world offering the broadest portfolio of solutions for financial institutions of all sizes, reported that more and more banks are now moving into the cloud and putting their core system, including payment systems, into this virtual space.
According to Tal Weiser, managing director for payments at Finastra in the Asia-Pacific, the result of their latest study revealed that the banking sector has been making moves to migrate its core systems to cloud platforms.
Instead of traditional and physical hard drives, Cloud technology allows entities to store and access their data and programs via the Internet.
Such technology may seem daunting to some organizations, but Weisser says enterprises in the Philippines have started to develop trust for the innovative tool.
“The main reason for this kind of change is (because) they are starting to trust and believe the cloud vendors,” says Weiser.
“The Philippine banking sector has since been making moves to migrate its core systems to cloud platforms to make their operations more cost-efficient in the long run,” he adds.
Cloud technology could be the answer to a rising number of phishing attacks
According to the Finastra executive, cloud service providers have been investing in cybersecurity so that their clients can be assured of a more robust digital defence.
This is seen as critical at a time when cyber threats are on the rise across the world, including in the Philippines.
Among the most common form of cyberattacks in the Philippines is phishing attacks — where users are duped into giving out personal information and corporate data.
Apart from cybersecurity, Weiser said banks are gradually moving to cloud platforms because they aid in making operations efficient. “[Banks] can be faster, they can reduce the cost of all legacy systems,” he said.
In the same study, the fintech firm also noted the growing rate of digital payment adoption in the Philippines, giving rise to the popularity of digital banks and e-wallets as more Filipinos get exposed to alternatives to cash.
Experts have since predicted the presence of “superapps” that would drive digital wallet use in developing countries like the Philippines. “Superapps” are multi-purpose apps that integrate digital payments alongside other services, including wealth management and e-commerce.