New survey highlights importance of mobile tech in creating a digital-first future for finance sector and navigating pandemic-accelerated challenges: talent retention, rising cyberattacks and new ways of working

Today Samsung released the results of the 2021 Future of Mobility: Finance and Banking Report, which identifies the challenges associated with talent retention, cyberattacks and remote work, impacting the financial and banking industry’s future.

Nearly two years have passed since the global pandemic spurred the evolution of the way organizations in the finance sector interact with customers and employees. Now, these companies must prepare for what comes next. Critical to charting the path forward is understanding and navigating the perfect storm of challenges and opportunities that were created by the pandemic. These include a dramatic surge in employee resignations, with 3%[1] of the workforce quitting in both August and September 2021; a startling 1,318%[2] rise in ransomware attacks on the banking industry; and an increasingly digital-first work environment, indicated by the $656 billion[3]  forecasted to be spent in 2021 on future of work technology.

Samsung’s report surveyed 500 U.S.-based IT decision-makers and 500 U.S.-based employees from financial services and banking organizations to better understand their digital demands and further define their industry’s future. Key findings from Samsung’s 2021 Future of Mobility: Finance and Banking Report include:

    • Mobile tech could make or break your talent strategy: Financial employees value access to technology that makes hybrid and remote work models more seamless and productive. The report showed that half of employees are unsatisfied with their companies’ mobile tech and 69% would likely switch companies for access to better technology. Investing in the right mobile technology will be central to recruitment and retention, as well as collaboration, connection and productivity.
    • The data security perception gap is your biggest security risk: Data security is an important issue in every industry, but ransomware attacks target finance[4] more than any other. Standing in the way of progress on this issue are the perceptions of financial organizations’ own employees. While 63% of IT managers worry about the security of company and customer data when employees work outside the office, only 6% of employees are concerned. To minimize risks, companies need to step up efforts to improve employees’ security literacy
    • Infrastructure must be prioritized to enable new ways of working: Employees and IT decision-makers naturally have different priorities, but one they share is mobile infrastructure. 86% of employees and 93% of IT managers agree that their organizations need to improve infrastructure over the next five years. For financial firms to compete in the future of work, they must support mobile tech that enables in-depth personal connections and offers world-class security

“The finance sector is at a crossroads right now. Our report reveals that many of the critical challenges illuminated by the pandemic are especially heightened for this industry,” said John Curtis, Vice President & General Manager of Samsung Mobile B2B at Samsung Electronics America. “Leaders in the space are under growing pressure to advance their company’s digital transformation and create a new value proposition. It’s no easy task, but our findings make clear the unique opportunity to define the future of the industry through strategic investments in mobile tech.”

Download the 2021 Future of Mobility: Finance and Banking Report for more insights on how mobile tech can help shape the future of the finance sector.

[1] U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Job Openings and Labor Turnover Summary – September 2021
[2] Trend Micro, Attacks From All Angles: 2021 Midyear Cybersecurity Report – September 14, 2021
[3] IDC, Worldwide Future of Work Spending Guide – June 30, 2021
[4] Trend Micro, Attacks From All Angles: 2021 Midyear Cybersecurity Report – September 14, 2021