Tech and education gap puts banks at risk of financial crimes,
experts warn
Experts emphasize that Pakistan must invest in technological
advancements and enhance customer awareness to counter the escalating incidents
of financial crimes throughout the country. This was discussed at a conference
titled "Financial Crimes in the Digital Age" held on Saturday.
Sirajuddin Aziz, Federal Banking Ombudsman and senior
banker, the chief guest at the conference, stressed the importance of
continuous upgrades to banking systems to fortify customer data security. He
advocated for reforms to address loopholes in practices and mechanisms that
expose customer data to white-collar criminals.
FIA
detains CFO and two bankers in Creek Marina fraud case
Aziz highlighted the irony that victims of financial crimes
in Pakistan are often highly qualified individuals, while fraudsters, though
less educated, excel at deceiving the public to obtain credentials for stealing
money from bank accounts. This underscores the urgent need for awareness
campaigns among both bankers and customers.
Nadeem Hussain, chairman of Pakistan Fintech Network,
asserted that banks bear the primary responsibility to cultivate a culture of
awareness about data privacy, starting within the system and extending to
customers. Investments in technology and education are crucial.
Extradition
of Pakistani citizen accused of bank fraud to Kuwait
Hussain pointed out the vulnerability of customers' personal
details, including OTPs, in the digital age due to their presence on the dark
web. He recommended that banks adopt new software and applications to protect
this data, and customers should regularly change their passwords.
Hazem Mulhim, founder and CEO of Eastnets, discussed the
emergence of the fourth industrial revolution, with Artificial Intelligence
transforming every industry, including finance. Global financial institutions
require Rs400 billion for system revamping through cybersecurity technology
acquisition and workforce capacity building. Organized financial crimes now
constitute 2 percent of the global GDP.
President
urges banks to help protect people from online fraud
While regulatory measures and penalties have been imposed on
financial institutions by banking regulators to prevent money loss to
criminals, these alone are insufficient to curb the menace. Pakistan, being an
emerging and critical market for the financial sector, must continually update
its systems with advanced technological solutions to maintain its position on
the Financial Action Task Force (FATF) whitelist, according to the Eastnets
CEO.
The conference also featured panel discussions addressing
challenges in digital banking, banking compliance, and anti-money laundering.
Source: The News