The digital economy is expanding at a rapid pace. Once relegated to the realms of science fiction, e-commerce, mobile payments, digital wallets, contactless payments, and the internet of thing (IoT) are now routine. Social distancing and stay at home orders in response to COVID-19, combined with pandemic related fears over the use of cash, are likely to accelerate the shift to digital payments.
Expansion of Digital Payments Industry
Technological advances and innovation drive the evolution of the digital economy. New entrants are bringing novel ideas and added value to key functions of the payments process, such as customer onboarding, faster checkout, and open banking. Businesses and financial institutions are expanding their digital offerings and outsourcing digital payment services to meet customer expectations and stay competitive. It is becoming increasingly necessary for companies to form partnerships and share data to optimize digital payment transactions.
Continued growth requires the ability to store, process, and share large volumes of data through an interconnected network of digital platforms. Many financial institutions and payments providers are moving to cloud to meet their data storage and processing needs. On one hand, cloud solutions provide flexibility, scalability, and cost benefits. On the other hand, security and internet connectivity issues can be problematic.
Multicloud solutions offer cloud benefits while minimizing risks. Cloud exchanges are a new network model that combine the agility and cost benefits of cloud with the more consistent performance and security of in house servers. These exchanges connect companies with private clouds to each other and to public cloud providers.
Mitigating Security Risks
The growth and increasing interconnectedness of the digital payments industry brings new security challenges. Increasingly complex digital transactions pose greater security risks. Cyber criminals will exploit weaknesses anywhere in the transaction chain to gain access to financial information and other personal data. Businesses in the payments industry need to address all security risks as increasing volumes of sensitive data is processed and shared among partnering companies.
Risk mitigation involves a number of different strategies, including data encryption and tokenization, real-time processing, using a private network with restricted access, and colocating infrastructure in the same building. Since the data never leave the building, colocating provides the highest level of security, while providing for cost-effective and efficient data exchange.
How Equinix can Help
As the global leader in colocation data centers and interconnection services for the financial industry, Equinix connects businesses to their customers and partners through conveniently located data centers around the world. These data centers act as a hub where businesses can interact and enjoy the mutual benefits of collaboration. Users can invite their partners to “meet me at Equinix” to share data over a private, secure network.
Collaboration can also strengthen security. Cyber criminals tend to repeat the same tactics when attacking multiple companies. Fraud prevention services can utilize shared data to identify patterns and fraudulent activity faster. When it comes to risk management, the whole is greater than the sum of its parts.
In an increasingly complex and interdependent digital payments system, Equinix offers an easily accessible solution. Private network connections and hybrid cloud solutions allow businesses and financial institutions to share information while controlling and protecting sensitive data.
