Customer authentication needs a more coordinated approach from banks, as fewer than three out of 10 have a unified approach to cross-channel authentication management. Just 28 per cent of financial service organisations (FSOs) have unified cross-channel authentication management. And fewer than half – 49 per cent – have partial cross-channel coverage. This is according to a study by Nice Actimize and PwC, which examined the state of omni-channel authentication strategies in the financial services industry. It found that only 28 per cent of FSOs have fully implemented cross-channel authentication management and that a lack of a unified strategy to manage authentication methods across channels resulted in a “poor customer authentication experience and less effective fraud reduction strategies”.

The report – Omni-Channel Authentication: A Unified Approach to a Multi-Authenticator World – noted that smaller organisations might offer fewer authentication products and operate across fewer channels so they are able to achieve unified cross-channel authentication management before larger companies. And surprisingly, 13 per cent of those surveyed have not yet assessed their authentication strategy – see the graph below.

The survey found that:

• 63 per cent of respondents from FSOs are assessing current authentication strategies to identify where there may be gaps or requirements for further investments in omni-channel authentication – but only 30 per cent of the surveyed organizations have completed that assessment to date;
• 61 percent will invest in an omni-channel authentication solution within the next 12-18 months;
• 28 per cent have the ability to manage all authenticators across all channels today;
• 83 percent of fraud management teams singled out a frictionless customer authentication experience as a key central driver behind their efforts; and
• 58 per cent will integrate fraud and risk data into omni-channel authentication orchestration decisioning.

PwC's Vikas Agarwal said: “In an age of authentication innovation, consumers want preferences in authentication type. But with many disparate authenticators in play, users face inconsistent experiences in each channel and lengthy and excessive challenges.”

And Nice Actimize's Joe Friscia suggested that sophisticated analytics that can make real-time challenge decisions will be an important method of reducing friction for consumers while keeping them safe from fraudsters.

The survey gathered answers from 75 experts in financial services.

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CTMfile take: This survey shows that a surprising portion of financial service organisations are not taking a unified approach to authentication management – and this could leave their customers feeling frustrated, particularly if there's a lack of choice in authentication methods.