Top Emerging Risk for Banking and Finance in 2025

The banking and finance industry looks a lot different than it did even a few years ago. Technology has been developing at a breakneck speed, bringing with it digital payment platforms, increased adoption of cryptocurrency, and artificial intelligence-powered apps.

This isn’t the first time we’ve seen the means by which we exchange money change drastically. Several years ago, most people relied upon checks and cash. Checks, however, were easily forged and became obsolete. Credit cards, and their less secure cousin, debit cards, quickly replaced checks. Now, as people exchange funds through apps, we will be seeing another wave of changes around protecting funds.

What are banking and finance security challenges going into the new year?

1. Securing the digital wallet

The adoption of digital payment platforms such as Cash App, Zelle, and electronic banking is on the rise. The use of these platforms has been a good thing, democratizing banking and making smaller interpersonal transactions easier. However, criminals are attempting to exploit these platforms with social engineering attacks. Phishing and spoofing can be difficult for the platforms themselves to control, because these scams target users in an attempt to steal sensitive information. Many users — especially older adults — are vulnerable to these scams. Threat actors know this, and are likely to step up attacks on older users in the coming year. .

2. Cryptocurrency adoption is likely to spark more cryptocrime

Cryptocurrencies like Bitcoin have been around for a while, but we’re seeing greater mainstream adoption of crypto now, thanks to its decentralized and unregulated nature. However, this also makes crypto an attractive currency for illicit activities. While Bitcoin has long been used in scams and ransomware attacks, organizations that trade in crypto are likely to experience more theft in the coming year.

3. ATMs will be a target

Despite the shift to digital payment platforms (and crimes), physical crimes show no sign of stopping. In particular, we expect that ATMs will be more of a target for robberies than bank tellers. There are a couple of reasons ATMs might be a preferred target:

• ATMs often hold more cash than bank tellers, making them a lucrative smash and grab

• Another issue is that ATM theft offers more anonymity than a hold-up. ATMs are equipped with cameras, and facial recognition technology is rapidly increasing, but by using a mask — either a medical mask, or even a printed mask with someone else’s face on it — criminals can obscure their identity from anyone looking at the footage.

4. The bank may not be the target, but the customers might be

This is part of a greater trend of anonymity in crime. Criminals are increasingly trying to move away from cameras and other countermeasures. Rather than holding up a bank branch, criminals are going after customers, staking out banks and following individuals to locations such as parking lots or homes to commit robberies. This again illustrates a need for heightened awareness on the part of the banks and the customers themselves.

5. Skimmers are still being used by criminals

Credit card skimmers are still a favorite tool for criminals. We’ve recently seen an uptick in skimmer fraud, with criminals installing devices on gas station pumps and other payment terminals to steal card information. These scams underscore the need for safer payment methods, such as tap-to-pay technology and additional layers of authentication. This is a special danger for those who use debit cards for all their transactions. Credit cards offer some protection from skimmer theft, but debit cards allow a thief into your bank account.

How can banking and finance institutions protect themselves in 2025?

When it comes to security, there’s always one constant: from masked bank robbers to cryptominers, thieves want to steal money. That means banking and finance are always a target for criminals. As different ways of accessing funds become available to more and more people, more and new complications will appear when it comes to protecting those funds.

Banks can’t just rely on what’s always worked; they need to carefully analyze risk and develop appropriate countermeasures. Learn more about assessing risk at your organization. Talk to an expert today.

About the Author

Daniel Young

Founder & Chief Innovation Officer

Daniel has been a security and risk advisor for more than 10 years, and is passionate about helping companies to better understand their risks to undesirable events on a daily basis. Dan previously served as the Regional Bioterrorism Coordinator for District 1 in Michigan, where he was instrumental in preparing communities for catastrophic incidents. He has also acted as the Private Security Liaison for the City of Lansing’s Critical Infrastructure Team, which identified and documented deficiencies in the city’s critical infrastructure.

He is a Co-Founder of the CSO Risk Council, a think tank of seasoned security professionals and thought leaders with extensive experience in managing the physical security and risks of large enterprises consisting of multiple sites and whose mission is to create a better process to develop and share innovative solutions and pertinent information with organizations to improve safety and security risk by providing a forum to discuss best practices and recommendations for specific risk scenarios and to network with other enterprise security professionals.