Erste is one of the leading banking groups in Central and Eastern Europe for advising and servicing private customers as well as corporate clients. With some 2,000 branches in seven countries, the bank is dedicated to serving as a trusted financial advisor for all customers, with a mission centered on empowering them to cultivate sustained financial health.

Through its all-in-one banking platform and financial companion named George, Erste strives to deliver and maintain a consistent user experience (UX) across all its markets. But to cater to local compliance needs, language nuances, terminology requirements and ultimately deliver customer service excellence, each country has a unique version of George. That includes authentication, which used to require a separate app to complete.

Managing multiple authentication vendors was too cumbersome, and Erste needed to ensure a more consistent and highly secure authentication experience.

“We selected HID’s solution for its scalability, compliance with PSD2 and Open Banking with dynamic linking — a true mobile-first approach,” says Tudor Georgescu, Platform Initiatives Lead for Erste Group.

HID Approve, powered by HID’s cloud-based Authentication Platform, was seamlessly incorporated into George as the digital financial companion, making the banking app consistent in all markets. Combined, the two solutions allowed George to validate users’ access requests and verify transactions swiftly and securely via scalable cloud delivery model.

The Authentication Platform’s flexibility was able to address the diverse preferences for Strong Customer Authentication (SCA) methods, accommodating various factors such as one-time password (OTP), biometrics, and more. During the phased migration, HID also provided crucial Professional Services support to work hand in hand with Erste to implement best practices related to solution design, user experience, as well as Application Programming Interface (API) and Software Development Kit (SDK) implementation, all to ensure a successful transition.

According to the company, the partnership with HID not only resolved immediate challenges but also positioned Erste for long-term success by eliminating the need to work with multiple vendors and advancing the bank’s strategic direction. Today, every customer log-in is using George powered by the HID Authentication Platform.