Pressure is undeniably high nowadays among organisations to secure digital interactions without compromising their clients' experience--the Finance department is no exception.
The task of coming up with solutions to combat fraud, foster trust, and enable secure digital engagement has been greater more than ever, especially now that more and more users are turning to digital transactions.
A research from software development company Docusign, in partnership with Entrust, reveals the growing toll of identity fraud on financial institutions, along with the urgent need for smarter verification.
The Future of Global Identity Verification report shows that the impact of fraudulent activities is especially stark in high-stakes sectors such as the banking & financial services sector, where high transaction volumes and compliance demands meet accelerating digital transformation.
In the Asia Pacific region, top fraud threats include identity theft, account creation fraud, and document forgeries, and many organisations find it challenging to secure digital interactions without disrupting the user experience
Since fraud has always been a matter of concern for the Finance function as it affects decision-making and strategising for the organisation's sake, it is necessary that chief financial officers find the most effective ways to strengthen their defences against these challenges.
The payments landscape
Kartik Krishnamurthy, vice president, Asia at Docusign, believes that one of the most notable shifts they have seen across Asia’s payments landscape is the growing urgency to secure digital transactions against increasingly sophisticated identity-based fraud.
"As payment experiences become more seamless and embedded, particularly across e-commerce and mobile-first channels, businesses are under pressure to deliver speed without compromising security," Krishnamurthy explains.
"Our recent Future of Global Identity Verification study shows that nearly 7 in 10 organisations (69%) globally have seen an increase in identity fraud attempts over the past two years."
He says many of these incidents happen during login or payment authorisation stages, where attackers exploit weak verification methods like usernames and passwords.
Krishnamurthy concedes that this is a growing concern, as more than half of financial services organisations reporting annual fraud-related losses exceeding US$ 1 million.
"While instant, frictionless payments have become the norm, they also introduce new vulnerabilities," he points out. "The challenge now is enabling trust at every touchpoint — more specifically, ensuring that verification is secure and designed to meet rising customer expectations for speed and convenience."
Reshaping finance leaders' approach
According to Krishnamurthy, the evolution of the payments landscape has reshaped how finance leaders across Asia approach risk, growth, and operational agility.
"As the region’s digital economy comes into maturity, payments are no longer treated as isolated backend systems. Instead, they are increasingly viewed as a strategic layer that supports customer trust, cross-border scalability, and cost efficiency."
He notes that a strong example is the linkage between Singapore’s PayNow and Thailand’s PromptPay systems, which allows near-instant person-to-person cross-border payments using only mobile numbers.
"Launched in late 2023, the system eliminates the need for lengthy account details or traditional remittance channels, enabling customers and businesses to transfer funds seamlessly across borders."
For finance leaders, Krishnamurthy thinks this sets a new benchmark for transaction speed, cost-efficiency, and customer convenience. It also reinforces the need to adopt infrastructure that can scale with regional ambitions while meeting rising expectations for simplicity and security.
"However, speed alone is not enough," he warns. "Fraud is most commonly detected during critical moments of the customer journey (such as login, payment authorisation, and account creation), where bad actors exploit weak or outdated verification methods."
"Our findings show that 51% of fraud cases involve usernames and passwords, making them the most targeted method, compared to only 21% of attacks against systems using facial biometric liveness detection."
For finance leaders, Krishnamurthy says this highlights the need to strengthen identity verification where the stakes are highest, especially during authorisation and transaction approval, but without introducing friction that could impact the user experience.
"This points to a broader shift: secure digital identity, intelligent agreement workflows, and real-time verification are no longer 'nice-to-haves.' They’ve now become essential pillars in modern financial operations to help reduce fraud, support sustainable business growth, and strengthen trust as digital payments become more deeply embedded in the way businesses operate."
Leading amid changes
Given the technological advancements in the market, finance professionals are faced with the great task of doing well in terms of digital transformation, especially since technological advancements have undoubtedly significantly impacted the way Finance teams deal with fraud.
In Krishnamurthy's view, finance professionals across Asia have made significant strides in adapting to the demands of a fast-moving, digital-first economy.
"Many are leading the charge in automating core functions such as accounts payable, receivable, and financial reporting, which improves accuracy, streamlines compliance, and frees up capacity for higher-value activities."
He observes that automation in finance is no longer about efficiency alone, but also about enabling smarter, faster decision-making at scale.
"Beyond automation, finance professionals adopting AI are strengthening their ability to manage risk, accelerate due diligence, and flag compliance issues early. These AI-powered tools can be used to identify key terms and spot anomalies within agreements, reducing time spent on manual review."
Kartik Krishnamurthy, Vice-President, Asia, Docusign
This is particularly valuable in high-volume environments such as vendor onboarding, payment approval, or internal audits—where any delay or oversight can carry financial and reputational costs.
Krishnamurthy adds that one of the most critical but often overlooked points of defence is customer onboarding.
"This is where identity verification typically begins, and where organisations have the opportunity to embed digital trust from the very first interaction," he explains. "Businesses able to balance speed, security, and user experience during this stage are not only improving conversion and loyalty, but also significantly reducing their exposure to fraud."
By modernising onboarding workflows and agreement processes, Krishnamurthy believes finance teams can detect red flags earlier, ensure greater integrity throughout the transaction lifecycle, and lay a stronger foundation for long-term resilience.
"As financial services continue to digitise, the ability to establish trust across every stage of the customer journey—from identity verification to agreement execution—has become a strategic imperative."
He says when done well, digital trust protects against fraud, strengthens customer relationships, and supports sustainable growth in an increasingly competitive landscape.
Recommendations
As identity-related fraud becomes more prevalent and sophisticated, Krishnamurthy advises finance leaders to strengthen the earliest stages of digital interaction—particularly account creation, login, and payment authorisation, as these are key moments where fraud attempts often take place, especially when outdated or weak verification methods are in use.
"The good news is that businesses that have invested in modern identity verification (IDV) tools are already seeing meaningful returns. Early adopters of these technologies are pulling ahead on multiple fronts. Compared to their peers, these organisations are over twice as likely to report substantial cost savings and nearly three times as likely to believe they outperform others in fraud prevention."
The Docusign vice president for Asia further highlights that many credit these tools with helping them build stronger brand trust and reduce exposure to fraudulent activity across the board.
"Fraud prevention is now a strategic priority that shapes trust, influences customer confidence, and drives long-term business resilience. Finance leaders who embed strong identity verification into digital workflows are better positioned to navigate complexity with greater confidence and minimise exposure to fraud as digital ecosystems evolve."
