Case study

Neither
corporates
nor their
banks have
been willing
to
compromise
their security
procedures
by omitting
digital
signatures
from their
payment
processes.
Global Standardisation and
Security through 3SKey
by Emmanuelle Fischer, Head of Cash Management Marketing & Product,
Societe Generale
C
orporate-to-bank connectivity has experienced substantial
change in recent years, not least with the introduction of
SWIFT Corporate Access, the development of highly
sophisticated web-based banking solutions, and changes in
countries such as France with the retirement of ETEBAC 5. In many
respects, these changes have either resulted in, or been a catalyst
for more convenient, secure and standardised connectivity
solutions that can be integrated with corporates’ internal systems
more easily than legacy communication tools. Until 2010, however,
one vital element that was absent from these innovations was a
single personal digital signatory tool that would enable corporate
users to ‘sign’ transactions with multiple banks.
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Demand for personal digital signatures
Corporations in France had been accustomed to adding personal
digital signatures to payment files as it was a feature of ETEBAC 5.
Corporate users digitally signed payment files before transmission,
and the identity of the signatory was then validated by the bank on
receipt of the file. Since ETEBAC 5 has been retired, it has been
replaced by EBICS TS or, particularly amongst larger and/or multibanked corporates, by SWIFT for Corporates. Inevitably, neither
corporates nor their banks have been willing to compromise their
security procedures by omitting digital signatures from their
payment processes. Consequently, it was essential that a solution
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insight
robust
authentication
mechanism.
Corporate users can therefore access their
banking platforms and sign financial files
sent to different banks with a single
device, as opposed to requiring separate
security tokens and diverse signature
processes.
Pioneering 3SKey
was found to replace the functionality
previously provided by ETEBAC 5.
Furthermore, as corporates in other
countries
enhanced
their
bank
communication, digital signatures became
a more compelling requirement globally.
The ownership dilemma
Despite the strong business case for a
digital signature solution, all market
participants recognised that proprietary
developments undertaken by individual
banks would be contrary to the widely held
objective to promote standardisation in
corporate-to-bank communications. The
solution to this dilemma emerged in 2010
with the launch of 3SKey by SWIFT. 3SKey
is a personal digital identity solution
developed by SWIFT in co-operation with
key players across the banking and
corporate community. Although developed
by SWIFT, 3SKey signatory devices can be
used to digitally sign transactions both
through the SWIFT network and through
proprietary networks or web-based
solutions, for which it offers a valuable,
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Societe Generale has been a pioneer of
3SKey adoption, not only in France where
the initial demand for personal digital
signatures on financial transactions
originated, but globally. We recognised
that our corporate customers needed to
implement secure, auditable and consistent
signatory processes for transactions
wherever in the world they were located,
and irrespective of whether they banked
with one bank or multiple banks.
Furthermore, whilst most adopters of
3SKey so far have used the devices for
transactions exchanged via SWIFT, users of
our host-to-host and web-based channels
are also able to use 3SKey.
As awareness of 3SKey grows globally,
we anticipate that adoption will continue
to increase strongly. 3SKey is already
accepted in 65 countries, with relevance
to all corporate users, irrespective of their
choice of bank communication channel.
For multi-banked corporates, and those
transmitting payment instructions from
more than one location globally, 3SKey
offers particular benefit in that payment
processes and security mechanisms can be
harmonised. Furthermore, it is highly
cost-effective compared with equivalent
solutions. The logistics for obtaining
3SKey devices will become more
straightforward when SWIFT launches its
web store. This will enable users to obtain
3SKey devices directly from an online
store, as opposed to this process being
managed by the banks.
putting pressure on their banks to support
3SKey in all the countries in which they
require consistent payment processes.
Companies of all sizes and levels of
complexity are seeking to reduce
operational risk and streamline processes,
and introducing 3SKey can be a valuable
means of doing so.
At Societe Generale, therefore, we are
proactive in proposing 3SKey to our
customers, across all connectivity channels
and throughout our entire geographic
footprint. Therefore, customers can use
their 3SKey device to access our webbased solution Sogecash Web, and
digitally sign transactions sent through
our host-to-host Sogecash solutions such
as SWIFT, FTP, SFTP, EBICS TS etc. This
focus on supporting customers in
enhancing their payment process
efficiency and control has led to Societe
Generale becoming one of the top three
banks for 3SKey globally.
3SKey is
already
accepted in
65 countries,
with
relevance to
all corporate
users,
irrespective
of their
choice of
bank
communicati
on channel.
The potential for 3SKey
Looking ahead, we anticipate that 3SKey
will become the standard for global digital
signatures, not only for payments, but
there is also significant potential to
expand its scope to access Societe
Generale portals other than cash
management. While some banks continue
to promote proprietary digital signatory
solutions, these are often inconsistent
with corporates’ and many banks’
objectives to achieve harmonised,
consistent payment processes and security
standards. ■
Emmanuelle Fischer
Head of Cash Management
Marketing and Product,
Societe Generale
Promoting global adoption
One outstanding challenge is that
although banks such as Societe Generale
have embraced 3SKey enthusiastically, and
enabled users of all of our channels to
make use of it, not all banks have yet
prioritised its adoption. This can sometimes
be a hindrance to those treasurers and
finance managers who are seeking to
implement harmonised processes and
controls. Corporates can influence this by
Emmanuelle Fischer has been in her
current post as Head of Cash
Management Marketing and Product
since January 2013. She joined Societe Generale in
2008 as Global Project Deputy Manager of the Sourcing
Division, and subsequently became Deputy Head of Cash
Management Marketing and Product.
Before joining Societe Generale Emmanuelle was with
Philips, Deloitte Consulting (Belgium) and most recently
ABN AMRO in London.
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