Trust Issues in Centralized Financial Platforms

🚨Recent Standard Chartered bank's credit card fraud incidents in Bangladesh aren’t just individual cases- they expose industry-wide trust gaps. In multiple reports, BDT 50K+ was transferred to MFS accounts within seconds -without customers ever sharing their OTPs. The response from banks? 👉”Since it was OTP verified, it’s not fraud.” But as Product Managers, we know the issue isn’t that simple. This is a product trust challenge, security issues- not just a compliance checklist. 🔎Probable Loopholes I see as a PM: • SMS Gateway Leak → Banks rely on 3rd-party SMS providers. If OTPs leak there, fraud is inevitable. • Excessive 3rd-Party Access → Outsourced vendors (like BPOs) sometimes get full database access. That’s a massive risk. • Weak Fraud Detection → Same High-value, unusual card-to-MFS transfers aren’t flagged in real time. ✅Possible Solutions (Tech + Product): • Shift from sms based OTP → adopt stronger MFA (biometric, facial recognition, in-app approvals). • AI/ML fraud models → detect similar transaction predict as scam alert in real-time and block suspicious transactions. • Fraud scoring system → device, location & transaction velocity checks before approval. • Joint monitoring frameworks → Bank + MFS + Telco working in sync. • Access governance → limit & audit vendor access instead of full DB exposure. ❇️But It is evident that these fraud incidents may involve internal collusion- whether through bank employees, OTP gateway providers, or outsourced BPO companies. In such cases, the bank must acknowledge the issue and take full responsibility, rather than denying accountability. 💡Digital finance adoption is growing — but without security & trust, growth won’t sustain. As PMs, our role isn’t just building features. It’s safeguarding user trust at every touchpoint.

Can we have this conversation? Nigerians don’t necessarily have a problem with access to payment solutions, but trust in the system. Think about it. Why do businesses still prefer cash despite having multiple digital payment options? Why do people transfer money and still call to confirm “you don see am?” The real issue isn’t the number of fintech solutions, it’s that trust in digital payments remains fragile. Here are some things that keep digital payments from reaching their full potential: 1. Failed Transactions, No Reversals – Ever sent money, and it vanished into thin air? Banks say “wait 24-48 hours,” but for many small businesses, that delay is a deal-breaker. 2. Fraud & Scams – From fake alerts to unauthorized deductions, people feel safer holding cash than trusting digital platforms that don’t guarantee protection. 3. Unreliable Infrastructure – POS networks go down, USSD stops working, and mobile apps freeze at peak hours. If businesses can’t trust the system to work 24/7, they won’t fully embrace it. 4. Hidden Charges & Fees – Customers don’t just want a payment method; they want a transparent one. Confusing fees make people hesitant to adopt digital payments fully. Fixing the Trust Problem: What Fintechs Can  Do Work Towards Instant Refunds People will trust digital payments when failed transactions are reversed immediately, not in 5-7 working days. Prioritize Security & Consumer Protection Build fraud-resistant systems. Integrate real-time alerts for suspicious transactions. If people feel protected, they’ll transact more confidently. Improve Payment Reliability No more “network issues.” Payment platforms must guarantee uptime and have backup systems to prevent downtime. Communicate Fees Clearly Transparent pricing builds loyalty. No one likes surprise deductions. If fintechs want mass adoption, honesty in pricing is non-negotiable. A truly cashless Nigeria won’t happen because of new fintech apps; it’ll happen when people trust that payments will work smoothly, every time. #DigitalPayments #FinancialInclusion #OlaDaramola

Programmability is easy. Trust at scale is hard. And if we don’t get the second one right, the first one will just fail faster. Most of the industry talks about tokenization as if it’s the finish line. It’s not. The hard part is coordinating identity, rules and risk across networks. That’s the trust layer and without it, tokenization is just a faster way to fail. We’ve seen this movie before. In aviation’s golden age, faster planes didn’t make flying safer. Pilots still needed air traffic control and someone to make sure everyone was operating from the same map, following the same rules and avoiding mid-air collisions. Finance is no different.Without an agreed “air traffic control” layer, faster settlement and programmable money just increase the speed of errors, fraud, and disputes:    •   Fraud moves at light speed—instant payments clear before banks can coordinate a stop.    •   Cross-border settlements go out of sync when different ledgers follow different rules, creating instant disputes.    •   Smart contracts execute flawlessly on one network but fail compliance checks on another, locking assets in limbo. Speed without coordination doesn’t just fail it fails faster. Here’s where trust breaks down without coordination: 🔍 Identity — Who’s actually on the other side of the transaction? 📜 Rules — Are we following the same compliance and settlement protocols? ⚠️ Risk — Who carries liability when something goes wrong? Solving that coordination problem means building trust that isn’t hard-wired for one-to-one connections. It has to be modular and composable. That means networks can plug into each other, build on each other’s capabilities, and coordinate without custom wiring for every connection. But composability cuts both ways. Without a shared trust layer, connecting systems quickly can also connect their vulnerabilities. The goal isn’t just faster infrastructure. It’s better coordination without concentration. Get that wrong, and we end up with a “tech-n-oligarchy” that looks decentralized on the surface but reinforces old power dynamics underneath. Get it right, and we create open, transparent trust standards that make composability safe—scaling trust, not just technology. A real trust layer would: 1. Anchor every transaction to verified, portable identity. 2. Embed rules so compliance travels with the asset. 3. Share risk frameworks so disputes resolve automatically. 4. Orchestrate actions across ledgers, networks, and participants. Without this, “programmable finance” is just speed without safety. With it, we can build a once-in-a-generation public infrastructure for global finance. So here’s the question: Who’s going to be the ATC for digital finance? And will the trust layer be open, or just another closed system?

Headline: 💥 Trust in Banking Under Fire: Capital One Faces Dual Crises 💥 Capital One The banking industry thrives on trust, but recent events at Capital One highlight just how fragile that trust can be. A $2 billion lawsuit alleging customer exploitation, followed by widespread deposit outages, paints a troubling picture for consumers and regulators alike. These two crises may seem unrelated, but they share a common thread: the erosion of transparency and accountability. In my latest article, I explore the parallels between these events, their impact on customer confidence, and what they mean for the future of banking. 🚨 Why it matters: Hidden fees? Missed deposits? These are more than operational failures—they’re breaches of trust. Both issues underscore the urgent need for stronger consumer protections and operational resilience in the financial sector. 🔗 Read the full article here: [Insert Link] Let's start a conversation! How can banks rebuild trust in times like this? What role do transparency and robust systems play in regaining customer confidence? #Banking #CapitalOne #TrustIssues #FinancialIndustry #ConsumerProtection #Transparency #OperationalResilience