Commentator Li Yuwen

Recently, the news that a bank has stopped cardless deposit and withdrawal business has sparked heated discussions. According to incomplete statistics, in the past year, more than 50 banking institutions have announced the cessation of card-free deposits, card-free withdrawals, scan code deposits and withdrawals and other functions, covering large state-owned banks, joint-stock banks, urban commercial banks and rural commercial banks and other types of financial institutions. After the business adjustment, users need to go to the bank's business outlets to handle deposit and withdrawal services, or continue to use bank cards to deposit and withdraw money on self-service devices. This decision was complained by some users, and it was a "regression" for financial services to return to the "card era".

In the author's opinion, this is not the case, and the tightening of the card-not-present deposit and withdrawal business by banks is a realistic decision based on the upgrade of risk control and cost control.

On the one hand, although cardless deposit and withdrawal services are convenient, there are security risks in identity identification and confirmation. At present, cardless withdrawals rely on authentication methods such as dynamic passwords and SMS verification codes, but with the continuous escalation of cyber attacks, this information is easy to be maliciously intercepted or obtained through phishing attacks, resulting in the theft of funds. In addition, cardless withdrawals are anonymous and difficult to trace the identity of real traders, which makes them potentially used by criminals for illegal activities such as money laundering and fraud. With the tightening of anti-fraud and anti-money laundering regulations, banks need to further strengthen their ability to verify the real identity of users, which is an important reason for banks to adjust this business.

On the other hand, with the popularization of mobile payment, most individual users do not use cash frequently, and the volume of cardless deposit and withdrawal business is relatively small, but the maintenance cost of this function is high for banks. Under the current trend of reducing costs and increasing efficiency in the banking industry, the suspension of such businesses can allow banks to reduce the cost of technology and equipment maintenance, as well as the operating costs caused by transaction monitoring and anti-fraud management, which is conducive to better cost control by banks.

True financial innovation should be both convenient and secure. The adjustment of this business is also a recalibration of the bank's financial innovation path under the wave of technology.

Although the traditional card-not-present deposit and withdrawal business is shrinking, the banking industry's exploration of "card-not-free" has not stopped. On the basis of balancing the convenience of services and the security of funds, banking institutions are actively exploring the use of more secure technologies to reconstruct the card-not-present transaction ecosystem. For example, by introducing biometrics, multi-factor authentication and other technical means to strengthen customer authentication, and in the process of upgrading equipment such as smart ATMs (automated teller machines), the "voiceprint + iris" composite authentication system is adopted to make up for the risk shortcomings of traditional cardless services.

At the same time, banking institutions continue to upgrade their risk monitoring systems to strengthen the sensitivity and accuracy of real-time detection of abnormal transactions. Technologies such as blockchain are also infiltrating the management and control of banking business processes to ensure transaction transparency and traceability. In addition, the pilot of digital yuan hard wallets is also accelerating, and the current digital wallets can easily complete services such as cardless cash withdrawal through mobile NFC (near field communication technology) or QR code, taking into account the security and efficiency of operation.

At a time when fintech continues to iterate, the bank's business adjustment is a pragmatic move to actively adapt to the new environment. In the long run, with the maturity of new technology applications, it is likely that financial services will achieve a better balance between security and convenience in the future, bringing users a more reliable and efficient experience.

National Business Daily