More PH banks embracing cloud services

The banking sector has been making moves to migrate its core systems to cloud platforms to make operations cost-efficient in the long run, according to financial technology (fintech) player Finastra.

Tal Weiser, managing director for payments at Finastra in the Asia-Pacific, said in a recent press briefing that “more and more banks are moving into the cloud and putting their core system, including payment systems.”

Cloud technology allows entities to store and access their data and programs via the internet instead of the traditional and physical hard drives. Such a technology may seem daunting to some organizations but Weisser said that enterprises had started developing trust for the innovative tool.

“The main reason for this kind of change is they are starting to trust and believe the cloud vendors,” he said.

For one, Weiser said that the cloud service providers have been investing in cybersecurity so their clients are assured of a robust digital defense. This is seen as critical at a time when cyber threats are on the rise across the world, including the Philippines.

In the Philippines, phishing attacks—which trick users into giving out personal information and corporate data—are among the most common.

Apart from cybersecurity, the Finastra official said banks were 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,” Weiser said.

Meanwhile, the fintech firm observed the growing digital payment adoption in the Philippines with the popularity of digital wallets and banks, as more Filipinos are exposed to alternatives to cash. INQ