Ensuring data security in the finance sector is not solely one organisation’s responsibility but requires commitment from all stakeholders, bankers and fintech service providers have said.
For a secure financial system, everyone from bankers to customers and the government has to act proactively, they said at the 4th Bangladesh Fintech Summit held in the capital on Saturday (26 August).
In the day’s first panel discussion, titled “Redefining Banking in the Digital Age: Collaborations, Innovations, Customers-centric strategies,” they emphasised cooperation among the stakeholders and changes of regulatory restrictions.
Hassan O Rashid, managing director & CEO of Prime Bank, said data security is an issue that keeps all the CEOs awake even in the middle of the night. “If customers think that banks are not able to protect our data, they will stop banking.”
Syed Mahbubur Rahman, managing director & CEO of Mutual Trust Bank, said, “Data security is not solely the responsibility of banks. Customers should also play a role in safeguarding their data.”
Regarding recent incidents of citizen data breaches and financial scams, former principal secretary Md Abul Kalam Azad said it is ultimately the government’s responsibility to protect data.
“We are facing some incidents like data breaches. However, we are learning from these incidents. It is not like we will always be victims of cyber scams,” he said.
At a fireside chat in another session, Kamal Quadir, founder & CEO of bKash, said mobile financing is not all about cash in and out, it also drives digital transactions in businesses.
“At present, out of our daily 12 million transactions, around 8 million is about digital payment and business settlement,” he said.
Dr Syed Ferhat Anwar, professor at the Institute of Business Administration, Dhaka University, moderated the session.
He emphasised the cooperation and openness among the banking and MFS service providers to expand a cashless financial settlement.
The summit was jointly powered by bKash, in association with Mutual Trust Bank Limited, upay and BASIS. The day-long summit, organised by Bangladesh Brand Forum.
It began with the opening speech of Shariful Islam, founder of Bangladesh Fintech Forum and Bangladesh Brand Forum.
He said, “The advancement of Bangladesh’s fintech sector is crucial for the Smart Bangladesh vision. Fintech is a very important component of the Smart Economy, one of the four pillars of the vision of Smart Bangladesh.”
“This platform is dedicated to strengthening the fintech ecosystem in Bangladesh with policy advocacy and engagements. I firmly believe today’s valuable discussions will open new frontiers for the emerging fintech industry of Bangladesh,” he added.
