Askari Bank, one of Pakistan’s leading financial institutions, has taken a major step toward strengthening digital trust and operational efficiency by modernizing its identity management infrastructure. Facing increased IT costs, security vulnerabilities, and time-consuming onboarding procedures, the bank identified the need for a unified identity and access management (IAM) solution. Manual password resets were consuming a large portion of help desk resources, while plain-text password exchanges presented compliance and security risks under State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) regulations. The institution sought a secure, automated system that could not only improve cybersecurity but also enhance the employee experience by introducing seamless access and faster service delivery.
To address these challenges, Askari Bank collaborated with Software Productivity Strategists, Inc. (SPS), an IBM Business Partner, to implement IBM Verify—a comprehensive identity and access management solution. SPS led the deployment, designing a framework that automated onboarding and offboarding workflows, reducing the cycle time from five days to one. This shift enabled the bank to become the first financial institution in Pakistan to achieve fully automated digital onboarding and offboarding integrated with HR systems. The introduction of a self-service password reset platform allowed staff to manage their own credentials without constant IT intervention, reducing help desk workload by 75%. Additionally, 80% of employees adopted the new self-service platform, highlighting its ease of use and impact on daily productivity.
The transformation extended beyond automation to include stronger authentication and improved compliance. With IBM Verify, Askari Bank eliminated insecure password practices and introduced multifactor authentication (MFA) across all sensitive actions, ensuring 100% coverage across core systems. The solution also introduced single sign-on (SSO) capabilities, enabling employees to securely access 36 banking and enterprise applications—including core banking—through a single unified login. The platform’s advanced security features prevent weak or dictionary-based passwords, reducing the risk of brute-force attacks. Furthermore, the integration of MYID Autopilot enabled agentic automation for password resets and incident responses, cutting mean time to resolve issues to seconds. This automation significantly reduced the security operations center (SOC) workload, lowered ticket volumes, and minimized lateral movement risks within the network, thereby enhancing the overall security posture.
Askari Bank’s collaboration with SPS and IBM not only improved efficiency but also solidified compliance with SBP’s cybersecurity and operational standards. The implementation represents a shift toward a more resilient digital identity ecosystem that supports regulatory requirements while maintaining high usability. By prioritizing both security and convenience, the bank has established a model for secure digital transformation within Pakistan’s financial sector. The success of this initiative demonstrates the impact of intelligent automation and robust authentication in modern banking operations, strengthening both customer and employee trust. Askari Bank, established in 1991 and operating under the Fauji Foundation, continues to lead through its commitment to technological innovation, serving a broad range of customers through its conventional and Islamic banking services across Pakistan.
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