Everyone has a favourite heist film – whether it’s a traditional ‘shoot ‘em up’ like ‘Bonnie and Clyde.’ or something a bit more hi-tech, like ‘Oceans 11’ – they compel viewing. However, more often than not, the audience sympathies are with the thieves. Of course in reality, bank robberies cause a lot of damage, stress and injury, let alone the financial losses. Hikvision has all kinds of state-of-the-art technology to provide a full security solution for the banking industry – from the lobby to the vault deep within the bank’s walls.
It’s not just in security where banks are exploring the use of technology to gain an edge. According to a report by Celent, a research, advisory and consulting firm focused on financial services technology, IT spending in banking globally will increase by 4.2% annually, and amount to $272.6 billion in 2019. There are a number of priorities for banks. The most obvious ones are securing customers, employees and assets, but there are also considerations like collecting reliable video clips for investigation and intelligence to help them make business decisions and streamlining processes to manage all of their branches effectively. In the end, like all business, they are also looking to increase customer satisfaction. The development of surveillance technology gives banks significant flexibility and new opportunities to build an interesting future, and this has scope across the entire bank.
Entering banks – the front door and the lobby
Banks need to be aware of who is coming in and out – the starting point of monitoring. Clarity is important here, especially since the environment could lead to strong back lighting (on a bright day when the light behind the person coming in is a lot stronger than the ambient light inside). This is where WDR-enabled cameras come in with the technology rendering a crystal-clear image, even in that environment. Super WDR can reach up to 140db, making faces clearly visible.
It’s also useful for banks to know footfall numbers of people coming in – to help with business decisions. A people counting camera at the entrance takes care of that with the smart technology able to distinguish individuals so they’re only counted once, ensuring an accurate count.
With a busy bank having large numbers of people through the doors every day, it could be useful to be able to identify them. Technology can of course be used for security to trigger attention and action needed if ‘unwanted’ people are detected, for example. But it can also be used to help with customer service. When clients opt to participate in VIP customer service programs, The technology can give banks accurate tools to identify VIPs so staff can provide the right kind of service at the right time.
At the counter
The main day-to-day activities of the bank happen at the counters. Counter transactions need to be recorded clearly to solve the disputes. HD cameras can give 4K resolution to provide good images where a bilateral close-up view is needed. When recordings are clear, both counter staff and customers are protected, should any disputes need to be resolved. Cameras give close detailed images available for general security too.
Security deep in the vault
In the depths of the inner bank lies the vault – usually the first priority for security in any bank. Because vaults are often in low light areas, ultra-low light cameras like Hikvision DarkFighter ones are really useful to be able to monitor and record crystal clear images even in the dead of night.
When the security around the vault needs to be strengthened, there are other options too, which can be supported by a Hikvision DeepinView camera. If the camera is connected to an access control system, it could literally be that only people whose face is stored on the ‘white list’ could enter.
Often, access corridors and areas close to the vault are covered by cameras too – giving a full overview if a person’s movements which need to be tracked through the building. Video analytics rules can also be set up to alert operators if a person ventures beyond a certain point – useful to prevent non-authorised persons from entering more sensitive areas.
It all comes together in the Security Centre
The place that few people see is the hub of all the security activity. Feeds from all of the cameras can be managed and stored in the Security Centre using a video management software solution like Hikvision’s HikCentral, simplifying security processes. Users can also access the security system via laptop or mobile which increases flexibility and efficiency of the security operations.
Technology is evolving with banking
With banks evolving and offering more and more services to their customers, the security challenges are also changing. The need to be constantly aware of who is in their building, and monitor all activities from the main lobby and banking counters to the vault itself; and bringing all of this information together becomes more important too – not just for operations staff can access it when needed, but also because it provides valuable support for business decisions. That’s when surveillance starts to add a lot more value helping them to serve their customers and improve the experience they have when using the bank.
Of course, the likelihood of the most of the famous heists in film history actually being pulled off becomes very slim in the face of smart new technologies to monitor and secure our banks. Some of us will probably have to stick to routing for the villains in our favourite heists movies.
