Outstanding Features, Security, Scalability

Thanks to the introduction of OneSpan’s one-time password (OTP) technology, Sony Bank’s customers authenticate themselves with a hardware Digipass token, preventing the risk of fraud by stolen static passwords.

Mr. Yoshitaka Okawa, Senior Manager, Systems Planning Department, led the product selection and system development. He explains how and why the bank chose OneSpan:

“When it came to the product selection, we valued all vendors’ achievements and their cost-effectiveness. As we compared products from a number of vendors, OneSpan was outstanding in terms of features, security specifications, range and the future expandability of products. We also found it superior that their hardware tokens are fully customizable. We got favourable responses from customers about our tokens.”

“The implementation went extremely smoothly in 2012. Until today, there has been no system failure or trouble,” says Mr. Shuichiro Sumimoto, a Manager in the Systems Planning Department. He praised the technology and stability of the OneSpan Authentication Server Framework, which is the authentication server in the back-end.

“Before we started, we received developer training. At the point the integration was almost completed, we received an on-site validation service, which confirmed the correct implementation. OneSpan provided us with full, strong support from introduction to maintenance and follow-up.”

Sony Bank uses OneSpan’s products for authentication when customers make important transactions and some specific service applications in MONEYKit. The bank carefully defines the security level for each service, so that their customers never get annoyed with excess procedures. This way, Sony Bank balances security and user convenience.

Taking Advantage of Product Expandability

Adopting OneSpan’s OTP solution has raised the bank’s security standing in the industry. According to Mr. Tatsuya Fukushima, an Executive Officer supervising the Systems Planning Department, “Sony Bank had the strong determination to start with hardware tokens only. At that time, even though the software token was highly secured, hackers were able to take over a device on which the token was installed. But technology has evolved. Now, some security applications in a smartphone can detect certain risks on the device, just like the OneSpan Mobile Security Suite does. We take advantage of OneSpan’s product innovativeness and expandability, and we will consider introducing the latest security solutions which help our customers use our services more conveniently and securely.”

Client Overview

Sony Bank Inc. is an internet bank which has provided customer-oriented, high-quality financial products and services to individual customers over the Internet. With a corporate philosophy “Be fair”, Sony Bank provides asset management tools such as foreign currency deposits or mortgage loans to meet the needs of independent individuals since its foundation in 2001. Sony Bank has consistently scored high in customer satisfaction surveys issued by various media organizations.