GoTyme Bank, a partnership between the Gokongwei Group and Singapore-based digital banking group Tyme, is optimizing its tech and security measures ahead of its launch. In 2021, the bank received its license to operate in line with the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas’ goal of digitizing 50% of all payments and having 70% of Filipino adults in the banked population by 2023.
Amid incidences of phishing, malware, ransomware, fraud, identity theft, and social engineering in the banking industry, GoTyme Bank has heavily invested in the best cyber security controls to strengthen its defenses. Social engineering is the act of deceiving individuals in order to manipulate them to disclose confidential or personal information, such as one-time pins (OTP) or passcodes.
“Without good cybersecurity, you can’t have trust,” explains Chris Bennett, chief technology officer at GoTyme Bank. “We make use of the best security controls throughout the lifecycle.”
As a cloud-first and cloud-only company, GoTyme Bank is able to react to threats much faster than any organization, Bennett emphasizes. Built on Tyme Bank’s experience and success in South Africa, GoTyme Bank is working with the world’s leading providers to prevent and combat potential threats.
“Being cloud only, we can make changes fast,” Bennett remarks. “We bring experiences of tackling threats from South Africa and we’ve been able to integrate some of the latest security tools.”
Even before GoTyme Bank’s code is written, teams are already trained in cyber development best practices, Bennett notes. The bank makes use of SonarQube, an open-source platform that continuously inspects and reviews codes to detect bugs. During the building process, internal and external security teams test the code for any vulnerabilities, and upon going live, a cyber operations center monitors and then alerts and acts upon threats.
“Our infrastructure is managed by Amazon Web Services (AWS) and we’re able to benefit from the range of secure certifications that they offer, such as the Payment Card Industry Data Security Standard (PCI DSS) and the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST),” Bennett says. AWS control towers allow GoTyme Bank to automate reporting and identification of issues.
AWS is the world’s most comprehensive and widely used cloud platform that offers on-demand cloud computing web services to millions of customers, while PCI DSS is a global information security standard for protecting data. NIST, meanwhile, is a cybersecurity framework used by governments and industries worldwide. GOTyme also credits its experience working with NICE Actimize, the leading global provider of financial crime, risk, and compliance solutions, to guard against fraud and money laundering
When it comes to high-value items, biometrics may also be used to verify the identity of individuals making a transaction. “Our payments fraud capability is world-leading, and we make use of our own and also industry data to spot and prevent attacks,” Bennett says.
Once live, GoTyme Bank clients will be able to open an account and receive a free personalized debit card in under five minutes via digital kiosks located in Robinsons Malls and Robinsons Supermarkets. GoTyme Bank promises to deliver high-quality banking products and services such as better savings interest rewards, fund transfers, trading, and investing, as well as 24/7 customer support via call, chat, or e-mail.
GoTyme Bank is set to launch in Q3 2022.