Traders Demand Mobility: BYOD And 2014 Other Trends

Paul Liesching, Truphone Mobile Recording

In 2013, traders in the United States became subject to new rules that require institutions to maintain full and complete records of all oral communications leading to the execution of a commodity interest transaction -- which means recording all traders' calls, whether on a fixed line or mobile.

While the deadline has passed, we believe that the trend towards using mobile communications within banks, and on trading floors, is here to stay. Employees have made their choice known: they want to be mobile.

[For more on complying with mobile recording regulations, read: Privacy in the Face of BYOD: Challenges in Carefully Managing a Mobile Recording Solution.]

Looking forward to 2014, there are 5 important trends related to the use of mobile devices in financial institutions:

1. Mobile is at the heart of bank business
Operating 24/7 on a global basis, investment banking has always needed to be at the forefront of technology; constantly evaluating and bringing in new gadgets to improve the business. With mobility on the rise, fixed line communications is beginning to be thought of as a thing of the past. As firms continue to broaden the handset strategy to empower employees to conduct business on the move, more banks will move away from fixed line to mobile communications on various devices such as phones and tablets.

2. Managing by policy alone isn't enough
While some financial institutions have restricted the use of mobile phones to conduct business, employees have started to push back, and it is becoming less reasonable to assume that employees do work solely at their desks. With the idea of mobilization continuing to permeate the banking industry, IT leaders are looking to improve infrastructure utilization, optimize productivity and drive efficiency.

3. Expanding regulations
Now that the many of the Dodd-Frank deadlines have passed, recording all relevant communications, such as voice, SMS, IM and email, has become a mandatory requirement in the realm of investment banking. Looking to the future, regulations will continue to impact groups, such as swaps dealers, futures commission merchants, introducing brokers, designated contract markets and swaps execution facilities, on a more global scale. Additionally new regions might start to see changes in regulation as well. The European Commission is publishing its proposals to amend MiFID II, which will include mobile recording provisions and many Asian hubs are considering similar regulations.

4. Value In Data
Banks initially adopted mobile recording technology in order to comply with the newly implemented regulations. However, the data gathered through mobile recording can be utilized to inform and optimize trading. New innovations are allowing for sophisticated tagging, searching and analysis of trading-related conversations to provide crucial information for bank decisions going forward.

5. Shared Liability?
With regulations in place, firms will more closely consider how to manage employees using mobile devices to conduct business. BYOD (Bring Your Own Device), which allows employees to use their personal mobile devices to access enterprise data and systems, is continuing to gain momentum, and institutions will be looking for ways to ensure that the end user bears responsibility for how the devices are used.

Employees at institutions will not go backwards. Mobile devices are here to stay. We believe that this trend towards mobility can ultimately benefit financial institutions -- if they embrace the changes and understand the advantages.

About The Author:
Paul Liesching, Senior Vice President, Truphone Mobile Recording Today, a significant proportion of financial institutions have chosen to keep on the right side of mobile compliance regulations by using solutions established by Paul Liesching. Since creating the first commercial mobile recording solution in 2005, Paul has been at the forefront of innovation in the mobile compliance and recording industry, bridging the demands of the regulators with the needs of the financial markets. Paul believes that the future of mobile compliance is in driving value from the onerous burden of increased regulation, by creating a return on financial institutions’ investment. Paul is Senior Vice President of Truphone Mobile Recording, which is a specialist division of Truphone dedicated to providing mobile recording solutions across Truphone’s global network.