Okta for Financial Services Brings Cloud Computing to Banking

In an era of digital transformation within the financial services sector, the COVID-19 pandemic has introduced even greater pressure for banks and insurers to enable both their internal and external stakeholders to engage with their products and services remotely.

According to a 2019 Boston Consulting Group report, financial services organizations face a cyberattack risk that is 300 times that of other companies. The public health crisis has complicated matters even further, as banks and insurers strive to uphold customer experience while protecting users against an increased risk of fraud. This has underscored the need to shift on-premises IT systems to the cloud.

Modernization of legacy infrastructure enhances both internal and external stakeholder experience in several ways. Cloud architecture provides the financial services industry with greater security, and enables innovation of reliable, user-friendly products and services.

Identity is at the center of this new era in banking and insurance. The Okta Identity Cloud is a crucial component of digital transformation for many companies, including Experian, which trusts Okta to provide secure identity management and a seamless customer experience for its Consumer Services’ Credit Tracker app.

Financial services organizations of all sizes trust Okta to help them deliver secure, seamless customer experiences across multiple applications, while adhering to regulatory compliance standards. Let’s explore four leading organizations that are forging a path to the cloud with Okta.

Canadian Western Bank: modernizing enterprise IT

With 40 branch locations and over 2,200 employees, Canadian Western Bank is the largest publicly traded Canadian bank headquartered in Western Canada. The company offers a diversified range of financial services across the country in partnership with several affiliates.

Canadian Western Bank specializes in highly personalized customer experiences for both the businesses and individuals it serves. Okta’s Customer Identity products, including the recently launched Okta Access Gateway, support Canadian Western Bank’s goal to modernize IT and make banking frictionless.

Access Gateway enables Canadian Western Bank to improve user experience and safeguard access by embedding upgraded security into traditional web applications. With Access Gateway, Canadian Western Bank can centralize access control to mission-critical customer apps on-prem and in the cloud.

The organization also uses Okta’s Workforce Identity products to protect its employees, improve agility and drive growth.

First National of Nebraska: identity-driven innovation

First National of Nebraska is the largest privately owned banking company in the US. The organization was founded in 1857 and has evolved from a local community bank supporting only the Omaha area to a multi-state company with 6 million customers and over 6,500 employees.

The bank initially adopted Okta’s Workforce Identity products to redefine security and reduce IT friction for its internal stakeholders. Tools such as Okta Lifecycle Management offer First National of Nebraska sophisticated control of identities across various lifecycle stages, as well as robust integration capabilities.

After this initial success, the First National of Nebraska team chose Okta to power identity for its new customer-facing application. Okta will replace the bank’s current legacy solution and equip 6 million customers with smooth, secure online access to their banking information.

With Okta Authorization, First National of Nebraska can control which apps and APIs its users have access to through attribute-based policies. This is especially crucial because Gartner has predicted that by 2022, APIs will become the primary point of attack.

Finance customer: differentiating with digital

One financial services organization serving over 17 million people in more than 20 states is working to design and deliver digital solutions across various lines of business, such as membership, insurance, financing, and more.

The team needed to streamline customer identity across multiple systems—a common issue for companies trying to serve large numbers of people on various platforms. They knew that unified identity was critical for a successful omnichannel experience, so they implemented Okta User Management. With User Management, all identities can be centrally managed in a single, unlimited user store.

In addition, Okta Customer Identity and Access Management (CIAM) enabled the team to simplify registration, authentication, and authorization flows for customers on the front-end while simplifying analytics and reporting on the back-end for IT and engineers. With CIAM, the team could also deliver customized, on-brand login experiences for members.

With the Okta Identity Engine, the company plans to roll out identity management and access control policies for users before they even become members. The Okta Identity Engine will empower developers with several unique tools, including per-app branding, progressive profiling, and passwordless experiences—enabling a frictionless, intuitive user flow.

Your trusted identity partner

Learn more about how Okta Financial Services helps organizations accelerate innovation, deliver excellent and secure customer experiences, and foster meaningful partnerships.