Why Advanced Video Surveillance Technology Is a Solid Investment for Banks
Video cameras have long been a staple in and around banks, but legacy surveillance systems are no longer the peak of security standards. Today’s financial institutions require innovative video technology that goes beyond forensics.
“An intelligent video solution can extend a bank’s ability to ensure the security of customers, employees and assets beyond simply recording incidents as they occur,” according to an article in the ABA Banking Journal.
Such technology integrates data analytics software with IP-based cameras, video management systems and other advanced solutions to enhance banks’ situational awareness. Financial institutions can even leverage predictive analytics to track trends in video data, forecast events and take proactive measures for safeguarding assets.
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Smarter Surveillance Combats Fraud and Customer Churn
Though advanced video surveillance capabilities offer several key advantages to financial institutions facing rising threats, preventing fraud stands out as a top benefit.
Artificial intelligence makes it possible for banks to automate video analysis and threat detection, which significantly reduces the need for manual monitoring and enables security teams to respond to incidents in real time. Add facial-recognition technology to the mix, and banks have a real edge against criminals.
“Investigators can automatically identify when a known fraudster has entered a branch or series of branches, identifying a higher value of fraud loss and improving the likelihood of prosecution by law enforcement,” writes Matt Tengwall, Verint’s vice president and general manager of banking and retail solutions, in a company blog post.
Intelligent surveillance also goes a long way in fighting fraud at branch and remote ATMs.
“Integrated video solutions allow [banks] to very rapidly sort through all [of their] transactions and find irregular activity, such as the same person making multiple transactions with different cards or someone standing in front of an ATM for a period of time without making a transaction (a possible sign of someone installing a skimming device),” Dan Cremins writes in an ATM Marketplace blog post.
Martin Bally, vice president and chief security officer at ATM manufacturer Diebold Nixdorf, tells CNBC that skimming devices are growing ever smaller and harder to detect, adding to their success. "ATM skimming is an over $2 billion problem globally," he says.
But skimming doesn’t just cost banks money — it can also lose them business. According to a 2017 study from Carnegie Mellon University, customers are 3.2 percent more likely to leave a bank within six months of experiencing an adverse event. Tapping video analytics to identify skimming attempts before fraud occurs could help stem the issue.
Beyond reducing churn, positioning video cameras around ATMs and bank branches could actually boost customer loyalty. A 2017 survey conducted by Ipsos indicates that, with all other factors being equal, 90 percent of banking customers are more likely to patronize an institution with surveillance than one without. That finding is likely tied to the way customers perceive surveillance systems: 90 percent of Ipsos respondents said they feel safer when they see cameras in their banks or credit unions, giving financial institutions ample reason to consider the technology.
