Vega delivers a modern, PSD2 compliant ebanking solution to Kleinwort Hambros

THE CLIENT

Kleinwort Hambros Bank Limited is part of Société Générale group and operates in the UK, Channel Islands, and Gibraltar. Currently, Kleinwort Hambros has assets under management of over £16bn and 1,000 employees. The bank’s services focus on comprehensive investment-led wealth management for an international client base, providing individuals, families, entrepreneurs and family offices with several financial services and products.

As part of their offering to clients, it is important to Kleinwort Hambros to provide a modern and efficient internet banking experience which enables their clients to manage their finances from anywhere in the world, on any device, at any time of the day.

THE PROBLEM

Kleinwort Hambros were using an internet banking solution that had become increasingly difficult to support and adapt to changing customer and regulatory requirements. The bank specifically needed a solution that would enable compliance with new regulatory requirements and that could be implemented within a short timeframe.

Delivering a compliant internet banking solution using their previous supplier was not feasible given budget and time constraints.

As Kleinwort Hambros had an existing relationship with VEGA Solutions, they asked VEGA to prepare a proposal based on the requirements and timelines. After review, it was decided that VEGA Solutions could deliver a solution on deadline and within budget.

THE SOLUTION

At first, VEGA implemented a tactical eBanking solution to remedy the bank’s predicament in the short term. The solution achieved the desired outcomes, allowing Kleinwort Hambros extra time to complete necessary changes on their existing internet banking solution.

However, after a successful pilot, Kleinwort Hambros decided to migrate all their customers onto the new internet banking platform provided by VEGA Solutions and decommissioned their previous service. The tactical solution exceeded expectations and provided a superior service in comparison to their previous solution.

In addition to meeting regulatory requirements, the new solution from VEGA provided better functionality, improved customer engagement rates, and increased the number of customers using internet banking as well as the frequency of internet banking activity.

The new platform also leveraged multiple security capabilities, including user-friendly two-factor authentication from VEGA’s partner OneSpan. Through OneSpan’s Mobile Authenticator Studio, the new internet banking application leveraged a highly secure authenticator app. As a result, rather than relying on static passwords, clients now received one-time passwords delivered via push notification to their phone. In addition, the authenticator app was protected with built-in app security known as app shielding or RASP, which protects the bank’s customers by hardening the app against the latest mobile threats. Both the app shielding and push notifications were quick to implement – and the push notifications were well received by clients.

Once migration from the previous internet banking solution was finalised and legacy services were decommissioned, VEGA’s internet banking application became a strategic, long-term, customer-facing platform. Throughout this journey, Vega Solutions has proven to be a flexible and reliable partner, from the implementation period to day-to-day support after the application was deployed.

THE OUTCOME

Successful launch and implementation allowed Kleinwort Hambros to focus on further improvements. One such improvement was the development of a new mobile internet banking application. This new mobile app would provide improved functionality and utilise the native biometrics features of smartphones to modernize the client authentication experience with multi-factor authentication.

Having demonstrated their ability to leverage their component-based software to deliver the initial internet banking solution quickly and cost-effectively, VEGA were engaged by Kleinwort Hambros again to onward develop the bank’s iOS and Android applications.

To build the required security into the new mobile apps, VEGA once again partnered with OneSpan. Integrating OneSpan’s Mobile Security Suite capabilities into the bank’s mobile application provides the following benefits:

Strong Customer Authentication (SCA), including biometric verification capabilities such as those native to the iOS and Android operating systems.
Mobile app shielding technology with runtime protection (RASP) that runs invisibly in the background to actively detect and block mobile threats, without interrupting the client experience.
Encrypted, secure channel communication to customers via out-of-band push notifications in the application and email notifications (using VEGA’s core portal product Sirius).
The ability to strengthen fraud detection and social engineering prevention for online and mobile transactions by easily authenticating transactions through OneSpan’s patented Cronto® transaction signing technology.

Within a short timeframe, VEGA Solutions and Kleinwort Hambros were able to develop a highly functional and, in some respects, industry leading application. The work took just over 6 months, from the inception of the functionality, solution design, and implementation, to public launch.

THE CONCLUSION

As a result of choosing the VEGA Solutions platform and developing the new mobile application, Kleinwort Hambros now have a modern and secure internet banking solution which is well placed to meet current and future regulatory requirements and customer needs. More customers are using the internet banking and mobile application than ever before and feedback from both customers and business stakeholders has been very positive.

Download in PDF format Kleinwort Hambros Case Study

TESTIMONIAL: “We have been introduced to VEGA Solutions via previous business acquisitions. The solution they have provided to us in the past was taken into consideration when assessing their suitability as a candidate to meet regulatory requirements and develop our internet banking offering. Vega Solution has proven itself as highly organised, efficient and reliable partner during developing of complex and time critical applications. The results have exceeded our expectations and delivered a new, efficient, secure and user-friendly solution which greatly benefits our clients and the business.”