Financial institutions continue to focus on revenue growth and improved margins through enhancing operational efficiency, risk management and customer experience. Technology is one of the solutions to achieve the goals. Innovation is re-shaping the industry landscape, especially on consumer banking and payment services.
IT professionals with creative and business minds are popular in the market. As more and more businesses see the value of technology in driving business growth, technological/digital deliverables have become unprecedentedly visible and important at the forefront. Here are two of the observations in the industry:
#1: Big data growing bigger
Financial institutions heavily deal with data, a valuable asset that can be further explored. They can gain better understanding of customers and their preferences through the database. Data analytics and information management play an important role in ensuring the proper execution of business strategies.
As the amount of data grows and becomes more complex, to manage and dig out the useful information is no easy task. IT professionals who are able to manage vast volume of data, combine various data sets and lead to better insight are therefore highly in demand. Know-how in data architecture, modeling, warehousing and governance will likely be a plus.
#2: Mobile payment on the go
Mobile devices are in wide use and consumers are getting used to doing money transactions on mobile phones and tablets. This trend implies both opportunities and risks. Whilst financial institutions can reduce their labour costs in handling transactions, the expanding mobile payment ecosystem is driving up the need for better information and network security control. In particular, financial institutions need to be mindful of the potential information leakage, money laundering and fraud.
