Since its formation in 1997, the more than five million customer identities managed by Tesco Bank had become siloed across its products and services, adding unwanted friction to the customer experience. The bank also needed to meet robust compliance requirements to adhere to the revised Payment Services Directive (PSD2), a European electronic services regulation requiring strong customer authentication. These needs were hindered by an inflexible security posture that was adding cost and time to the launch of new applications and features.

“We needed a customer security platform that could extend across all our channels,” explains Tesco Bank security architect, David McConchie, “and ultimately allow us to consolidate disparate identity data, laying the foundation for a common customer identity.”

The goal was to select the best solution to break down identity silos and bring it into one simplified identity layer. With ProofID as the implementation partner, Tesco Bank configured its new PingAccess and PingFederate cluster to secure key applications in just 12 weeks. This included building a single-factor login journey and deploying it across their private AWS cloud. The result is a common identity provider with self-service features across banking, credit cards and general insurance, which allows customers to more easily manage their money and have an overall better experience. The self-service features also removed a major security burden from developers, helping them deliver new services much faster and more cost effectively.

“We saw how we could use PingAccess and PingFederate to work across web, mobile and API. The ease with which we could deploy across channels was a critical factor, along with the data governance capabilities,” explains McConchie. “Ping Identity gives us the flexible authorization capabilities we need to minimize friction and deliver a customer-centric experience.”

“Modern enterprises require increased business agility, and banks are no exception,” said Emma Maslen, VP and general manager of Ping Identity, EMEA & APAC, “Financial institutions are faced with unforgiving customers and uniquely robust compliance requirements. This amplifies the need for a partner that not only understands their complexities but can deliver flexible security solutions that deliver an integrated customer experience to achieve business goals.”