Across Europe, numerous financial institutions are embracing Software-as-a-Service (SaaS) solutions as essential tools for achieving cost savings, efficiency and scalability.
Whether in France, the UK, Spain or Germany, banks and financial service providers are looking to SaaS as a future-proof way to handle growing pressure arising from various factors including operational cost increases, the growing limitations of legacy systems and regulatory compliance requirements.
Rapid Growth and Innovation: The Future of Digital Payments in Europe
Europe’s digital payment market continues to grow at an unprecedented pace.
In 2023, for example, the total transaction volume for non-cash payments across key European markets reached a record-level 138.2 billion transactions, increasing by 13.7% in comparison to 2022, according to the European Central Bank.
From the increasing adoption of SEPA Instant Payments and the growing popularity of contactless payments to the rise of innovative payment methods like Buy Now, Pay Later (BNPU, the demand for faster, more flexible payment options is skyrocketing across all age groups and regions.
This growth shows no sign of slowing.
Industry experts predict the market volume of digital payments to grow by 8.8% by 2028.
The number of cashless payment users in Europe is predicted to exceed 700 million users by 2025, resulting in a market volume of over $300 billion, says Copper Digital in their analysis of the future of digital payments in Europe.
As a result, financial institutions must adapt quickly to serve this expanding market. requiring not only the speed and flexibility to handle transactions but also the security to protect against fraud.
Staying Competitive in a Shifting Financial Landscape
As financial institutions across Europe continue to advance their well-established digital banking and payment services, the pressure to stay competitive intensifies.
Traditional banks now face competition not just from fintech companies and digital native start-ups, but also from non-banking financial institutions and large tech firms.
At the same time, new regulations such as PSD3, PSR, and the upcoming EU AML Directive, combined with ever evolving customer expectations, are driving up operational costs.
To meet these challenges, outsourcing key processes like fraud prevention or payment transaction monitoring to SaaS providers has become an increasingly attractive option for financial institutions.
SaaS enables banks to maintain operational efficiency while reducing the complexity and cost of maintaining on-premise solutions.
Fighting Financial Crime with SaaS and Al
SaaS solutions offer a modern, scalable. and cost-efficient alternative for tackling one of the most pressing challenges for financial institutions: financial crime.
The cloud offers the flexibility to scale with fluctuating transaction volumes, while SaaS providers take care of maintenance, hosting, and security.
Platforms like INFORM’s RiskShield exemplify the benefits of SaaS for European financial institutions.
Using Hybrid Al, RiskShield combines the computing power of machine learning with human oversight in knowledge-based systems.
This approach facilitates rapid decision making and automated processes helping institutions meet increasing regulatory demands while reducing the workload on internal teams.
Through its real time fraud detection and AML monitoring, RiskShield offers its customers – currently in use by over 250 financial institutions worldwide – effective anti-financial crime measures while keeping operational costs under full control.
Future-Proofing with SaaS
Financial institutions across Europe are increasingly recognizing that SaaS is a strategic, long-term solution for the future of banking.
By outsourcing critical processes to trusted SaaS providers banks can focus on what they do best: delivering excellent service to their customers and staying competitive in a rapidly changing digital environment.
“Choosing RiskShield SaaS means customers can focus on their core business while INFORM handles operational complexities and automatic updates,” says Roy Prayikulam, Senior Vice President of INFORM Risk & Fraud, on why customers have chosen a SaaS solution over an on-premise installation.
“Outsourcing IT operations lets them concentrate on strategic initiatives, ensuring their software is always up to date with the latest features and security enhancements without any additional effort.”
Conclusively, now is the time to embrace SaaS. streamline operations. and scale up for the future. Whether you’re a major European bank or an emerging fintech, SaaS offers the flexibility and security needed to thrive in the digital age.
Read the new white paper from INFORM now to learn more about securing instant payments – and why instant payments are the gateway to next-level customer service.
The post SaaS for payment service providers – Boosting security and efficiency appeared first on Payments Cards & Mobile.
