Why It Is Crucial To Have Video Security Solutions For Banks?

Banks and financial institutions are always at the receiving end of security threats. Dealing with monetary assets makes these institutions vulnerable to the agents around them. Being entrusted with the general public’s hard-earned money and belongings, these establishments must invest in intelligent video security and surveillance solutions.

Intelligent video security solutions for banks utilize IP cloud storage cameras and smart sensors to gather data from the surroundings and transmit them to the cloud via secure networks. Along with sharing the complete data recorded, these edge devices can analyze that data in real-time and raise alerts in case of anomalies. The video footage can be viewed and retrieved through the cloud platform, at any time, from anywhere.

The Artificial Intelligence and Machine Learning (AI & ML) integration into video security solution for Banks has transformed how surveillance is viewed today. Moving from a simple ‘record retrieval ideology to a ‘Livestream-predict-record-retrieve’ mechanism allows users to use the data collected while it is being collected.

Comparing these intelligent IP-based video security systems with the past analog CCTVs (still in use today, but highly outdated), one thing is for sure. With time comes new threats; people become more creative with their abilities and more desperate in their needs. To compete with these new threats, technology has to continue evolving. What was deemed as a robust security mechanism back in the day is no longer of much value.

Criminals that are now accustomed to the old ways of surveillance (an analog CCTV camera without proactive capabilities) have found loopholes in the system. Covering their faces, spray painting over the camera lens, or tampering with its wires usually helps them protect their tracks.

The methods of the crimes change, but the crimes are inherently the same. Banking establishments have always been susceptible to break-ins. Vault theft, ATM skimming, employee assault, and pilferage are common security threats on the list of crimes for decades.

What are the threats that bank faces?

1. Theft and burglary

A banking facility is imagined to be a haven for our assets. Rather than accumulating considerable sums of money in our homes, we prefer having it deposited somewhere far safer than our home vaults. However, amidst this trust-based relationship between customers and a Bank, a break-in or theft can be a deal breaker.

Theft and burglary are common terms that come to mind when one talks about the challenges faced by financial institutions. Whether the result of external attacks or internal manipulation, thefts in banks can ruin their reputation. But let us not forget the real impact here, the monetary loss.

2. Employee assault

Physical and sexual assault is a security concern of every enterprise, irrespective of the industry. Aggressive behavior towards fellow employees that often leads to physical fights and sexual assault inflicted onto lower-ranking employees is a common occurrence that does not always get reported. However, such incidents can adversely impact an employee’s emotional well-being and bring down their morale. A banking system of continuous surveillance becomes imperative to prevent such incidents from taking place.

Keeping a manual check on all employees, across all bank branches, at all times sounds just as impractical as it is. With substantial limitations to manual security, a security guard can only view one spot at a time, making it impossible to have eyes on all parts of the facility.

3. Employee negligence and misdemeanor

Have you ever walked into an ATM unit only for another customer to follow closely behind?

Security guards stationed at ATM outlets often let these minor discrepancies go, but these minor incidents cause the most significant harm.

A financial institution needs a surveillance mechanism to save it from external offenses and the misconduct of employees. Internal theft and pilferage are common incidents that bank managers have to plan for rigorously.

Banks store more than just important assets and money. Encountering tens and hundreds of customers daily, these institutions have a large customer information pool. In the hands of a dishonest employee, this information can lead to huge losses incurred by customers.

4. Perimeter breach

While Banks and ATMs are open to all, there are restrictions associated with a customer’s mobility across the premises. Even when inside a branch, one cannot casually walk up to the money vault, get access to it and continue with their day.

Especially after hours, no personnel, employee or not, should get access into the branch without permission. However, with no surveillance mechanism in place, regulating such incidents becomes exceedingly difficult. Employing guards to protect the premises from unprecedented breaches, even though beneficial, has its limitations.

What are the steps to follow while installing video security solutions in banks?

1. Deterrence

The first step towards ensuring the safety of your premises is deterring any crime before it happens. For this idea to be possible, it is necessary to shift one’s dependence from a reactive approach to a proactive system where a surveillance system can capture footage and notify escalations in real-time before the crime has even occurred.

The presence of IP cloud cameras at all major access points deters any unauthorized personnel from entering the premises. Access control systems installed around vaults and server rooms requiring identity authentication also stop outsiders from entering vital areas.

2. Detection

Even with the installation of a surveillance system across the premises, miscreants might find a possible gateway. However, with multiple sensors and cameras installed across the site, it is easy to detect their presence in unauthorized areas. An unauthorized employee forcefully opening the vault can lead to an alarm’s auto initiation in real-time, notifying the manager and other employees of the incident.

3. Validation

Sensors and cameras can detect unauthorized presence in restricted and secured areas, but they cannot justify those occurrences. For every alarm raised and every alert sent to security staff, a follow-up procedure takes place.

With most video security solutions backed by third-party command centers, they are responsible for reviewing the situation. They can include a warning issued to the staff member to show their ID and validate their presence.

For outsiders who have found their way into restricted areas, the command center personnel can question them, warn them, and take further actions. The validation process ensures that false alarms do not lead to panic.

4. Response

Following through with identifying the intruders, the command center personnel can notify the in-house security staff of the situation or notify local authorities.

Conclusion

The Banking sector significantly impacts most of the country’s population. Trusting these facilities with their life’s worth, the least customers expect is their assets’ security. A video security solution for bank becomes must to ensure its premises’ overall safety and the people associated.

No longer a good to have, video security surveillance has become a must-have, from keeping a regulatory check over their employees’ functions to preventing crimes before they occur proactively. Intelligent video security solutions have become a vital necessity for financial institutions today.

An intelligent video security solution for banks can transform the way a Banking facility functions and adds tremendous value to its operations by securing the facility from external and internal threats.

If you would like to know more about IGZY’s intelligent bank video surveillance solution for Banks, ATMs, and Vaults across India – get in touch with us today.