Provide Customer Wireless Access to Sensitive Data
A practical mobile banking solution extends
the total banking experience to users on the go. In order for a financial
institution to launch a successful wireless service, they must first find the
right balance of security, cost, and control in an effort to provide customers
access to sensitive data from any location.
As leading financial institutions within
their respective markets, SkandiaBanken in Sweden, Vakifbank in Turkey, and
Postova Banka in the Slovak Republic work to ensure that customers have safe
and easy access to their important financial data from wherever they are in
the world. To do this effectively, banks requires a stable Wireless
Application Protocol (WAP) server environment, support for the latest
encryption technology, and processes that run entirely at the enterprise layer
so that the bank has complete control of security, access, and costs. The
Infinite Enterprise WAP Gateway, from Captaris, provides a valuable link to
the mobile wireless banking infrastructure in these organizations and many
others throughout the world.
SkandiaBanken is a retail bank in Sweden,
providing full banking services for over 350,000 clients. The bank operates
entirely via Internet technology, without physical branches. Customers can
also communicate with the bank through standard telephones, voice-response
units, GSM-
technology, an HTML
based Internet Banking interface with e-mail options, and now WAP
technology.
Vakifbank T.A.O., founded in 1954, is one of
the most reputable banks in Turkey and has branches and bureaus nationwide.
The bank focuses exclusively on the Turkish market through its 485 branches
and bureaus. Mobile banking services are a key priority at Vakifbank, and
integral to their ongoing electronic banking strategy.
Postova Banka, a.s. is a retail bank in the
Slovak Republic, providing full banking services for over 600,000 clients. The
bank operates entirely within the Slovak Republic through its own branches and
sub-branches, and also through over 1,600 Post Offices. Electronic banking
services are one of the priorities of Postova Banka, with WAP technology being
their latest focus.
CHALLENGES GROW AS
M-COMMERCE BECOMES A REALITY
Postova Banka, Vakifbank, and SkandiaBanken
all rely heavily on WAP to stay competitive and to extend their customer
service from the regional offices to points around the globe. The Infinite WAP
Gateway allows secure access to banking operations from within a private
environment, rather than over a public network through the mobile operator
portal. Captaris products add functionality, versatility, and ease of use to
banks wireless service system. This allows the Mobile Banking Program to
remain flexible to the needs of its customers.
As an example, customers can securely view
their deposit and credit card accounts, execute their credit card payments,
make balance inquiries, as well as pay their bills from any wireless device.
Users of the mobile service may also check the foreign exchange, gold, fund,
repo and treasury bill rates, as well as access information on the bank's
range of financial products. Banks are also able to provide value-added
location-based information, such as city guides, restaurant reviews, movies,
theatres, museums, art galleries, libraries and other important information.
THE INFINITE WAP GATEWAY
MEETS THE NEEDS OF FINANCIAL INSTITUTIONS
"After a period of trials on several
WAP gateways, the Infinite Enterprise WAP Gateway was chosen as the
appropriate solution," commented Kenan Atar, EDP Director for Vakifbank.
"The product is reliable, easy to use and easy to install."
Atar continues, "Vakifbank has a
reputation for offering seamless customer service, whether wired, wireless or
in person at a branch location. Offering our full range of services to mobile
customers, without having to worry about security and without needing to
become WAP gateway experts, has been very important to us. We are responsible
for the safety and accessibility of our customer's assets, and for supplying
information on-demand. Utilizing the Infinite WAP Gateway has given us the
freedom to focus on content, rather than worry about the stability of our WAP
environment."
"Ultimately, our users will choose and
deploy a wide variety of WAP devices. Among the products that we evaluated,
the Infinite Enterprise WAP Gateway was the logical choice for our WAP
services because it does not limit the customer to a specific phone or
manufacturer," states Per Lundkvist, Head of IT for SkandiaBanken.
"Captaris has provided us with
excellent technical support during our launch and we are well positioned for
the commercial success of our services," states Gabriel Fedorko, Head of
IT for Postova Banka. He adds, "It has been nice to work with a forward
thinking vendor such as Captaris. They are innovators in their field and are
enabling mobile commerce services by providing reliable, affordable, and
scalable solutions."
SECURITY, COST, AND CONTROL
Some examples of WAP gateways that are used
throughout the world are the Infinite WAP Gateway, Phone.com's UP.Link, and
several third party products. Before the introduction of the Infinite server,
SkandiaBanken was in the process of evaluating Nokia's Active Server, and
according to Lundkvist, "The introduction of Captaris products has made
our mobile banking system much more reliable, secure, and economical. In fact,
the ease with which everything was deployed has given us the confidence to
explore a variety of other mobile services that we can offer in the
future."
Postova Banka's Infinite WAP Gateway was
installed and configured by Gabriel Fedorko, Head of IT. Fedorko also brought
the Infinite server into the organization. "Mobile access is an important
foundation of our work now." According to Fedorko "It provides the
possibility for additional revenue and increased customer loyalty. Early users
of our internet-based services have found wireless access particularly
important in planning their daily activities and making ongoing financial
deci-sions. There is a cost benefit too, compared to fax, e-mail, or regular
Internet transactions, because those options require a wired, physical device
or active connection to access the system."
"Another, more subtle benefit is that
WAP banking is a very powerful tool for including our customers nation wide in
the banking process," said Kenan Atar of Vakifbank. "The Infinite
WAP Gateway is the wireless backbone that allows all types of mobile phone
users to access our services. This is vital because the customer ultimately
makes the choice as to which device they will use for access, and as a result,
there are many options available." Atar also states, "Vakifbank's
WAP Gateway is supported by the Captaris Technical Support Department via
e-mail, and I am very satisfied with Captaris' level of support." Mr.
Fedorko and Mr. Lundkvist agreed.
"It is a privilege to work with
innovative partners, such as Postova banka, Vakifbank, and SkandiaBanken, who
are taking an early technology lead in deploying mobile commerce services in
their regions of the world." stated Allan Carter, Captaris' Director of
Marketing, Mobile Wireless. "Providing the WAP platform for secure mobile
banking at these institutions now represents over twenty countries in which
Infinite WAP solutions have been deployed."
The Infinite WAP Gateway is a software
product that enables companies to provide mobile access to electronic mail and
other services available on the Internet and private Intranets as well as
other information systems. The Infinite WAP Gateway is a powerful WAP proxy
supporting WAP v1.1 applications and content. The product includes support for
WML
Script, HTTP
cookies, and optional encryption security using WTLS,
as well as support for numerous WAP devices, including phones from Nokia,
Ericsson, Siemens, and Motorola.
The issue of security dominates m-commerce,
especially for financial institutions. Mobile banking represents new
challenges in assuring that both customers and the banks themselves are
operating within a trusted environment. Security of a banking customer's
assets is paramount. Information, account statements, transaction
documentation, and personal customer data can all be considered part of a
financial institutions liability to the consumer. It is necessary for
sensitive information to be safeguarded by the bank to ensure that it remains
competitive within the marketplace. Captaris uses Baltimore Technologies as
their preferred security provider. Under this partnership, Captaris has
incorporated the Baltimore Telepathy WAP Security Toolkit into its Enterprise
WAP Gateways to provide secure mobile access to electronic mail and financial
services available on the Internet, as well as a bank's private Intranet.
Those interested in learning more about
Captaris Mobile Wireless products within SkandiaBanken, Vakifbank, or Postova
Banka are invited to contact the referenced individuals as follows:
Mr. Per Lundkvist, Head of I.T.,
SkandiaBanken
Per.Lundkvist@SkandiaBanken.se
Mr. Kenan Atar, EDP Director, Vakifbank
Katar@vakifbank.com.tr
Mr. Gabriel Fedorko, Head of IT Division,
Postova
BankaFedorko@pabk.sk
