Enhanced data repository to reduce cost of businesses

Bangladesh should develop an enhanced digital data repository for its citizens to facilitate quick, automated bank account opening and to expedite other financial service delivery, a top global banker has said recently.

"Such enhanced data repository can ease the process of account opening by acting as the master database of all necessary information and can also lower the cost of account opening", said Michael Gorriz, who is the Group Chief Information Officer of global financial giant Standard Chartered.

"Under such scheme, there will be a national register where the data of citizens are stored in a safe place and banks will have access to it with consent from their customers", Michael Gorriz, who was on his first visit to Bangladesh last week, told the FE in an interview. 

"This means that all the data you need for account opening can be pulled from that central register without re-entering. This would also stop duplication or multiplication of data", he added.

The Standard Chartered top official observed that such automated and digitised system will help lower the cost of opening a bank account and thereby would help  enhance financial inclusion.

"In Bangladesh, we have a large unbanked population. But, by lowering the cost of opening an account through this digitised system, the country can potentially bring many more people under the banking services", Gorriz said.

Standard Chartered, which has been at the forefront of introducing latest banking technologies in Bangladesh, has boosted its digital investment globally in recent years.

"We increased our digital investment by 40 per cent going from the year 2016 and onwards and this flows into all areas including product enhancement as well as regulatory enhancement", Gorriz said.

"In Bangladesh, we introduced the system of real time tracking of transactions while we have also unveiled our mobile banking app last year", he added.

The Standard Chartered high official also said that the multinational banking giant can help Bangladesh enhance the capability of its National Payment Switch (NPS).

"I think NPS still has a slow pick up rate in Bangladesh. However, Standard Chartered has lots of experience with such payment switches across the world and we can bring this experience here".

In the global arena, there have been a lot of hypes on crypto-currencies in recent months. The Standard Chartered top official, however, believes that although crypto-currency is here to stay, this new mode of digital currency needs to be regulated. 

"I believe that crypto currencies will survive and will be a basic offering to the financial system. However, we believe only in those crypto-currencies which are governed by the central bank and used in a controlled and regulated environment".

"We do not believe in crypto-currencies which are independent. Because, they have no stable guarantee while the rules and regulations around them are not existent".

Standard Chartered officials also informed that currently, they are working for end to end digitisation of banking and financial services in the country.

"Digitisation is not automating a single piece of the whole system, but to ensure end to end digitisation starting from the side of sender and ending at the side of the receiver", said Khaled Aziz, Chief Information Officer of Standard Chartered in Bangladesh.

"To ensure that customers get the full benefit of digitization, we need to look at that end to end process", he added.

Gorriz, who, prior to joining Standard Chartered, was the Vice President and CIO of German automobile giant Daimler, also cautioned that banks should never underestimate the need for updated protective measures in tackling cyber crime.

"We have to recognize that the sophistication of cyber criminals have increased tremendously over the last few years. And such risk has increased significantly with the most powerful cyber tools being available more or less as an open source in the dark web", he added.

Therefore, what was enough two years ago is not enough today", Gorriz cautioned. "Digitisation has some advantages. But it has some risks that have to be managed".

"And it can be managed but it requires certain investment", he added.

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