Data is the backbone of every financial institution. But are we managing it well enough?
Across the financial services industry, operations leaders are struggling with manual processes, scattered systems and reactive compliance. The problem is especially acute for payments and digital banking companies, where high transaction volumes and data complexity stretch resources to the limit.
In fact, Kani’s 2025 back-office survey found that the average UK payments business spends three hours preparing data before the reconciliation process can begin, and 82% regularly struggle to meet reporting deadlines.
For an industry that thrives on precision, that’s a problem.
In this article, we’ll explore:
- Why data management is a priority
- What ‘good’ looks like in a modern data stack
- Signs it’s time to modernise
- How the right data habits lead to better decisions, compliance and customer outcomes
Why data management is a priority
Downstream risks are often created by challenges at the very start of the data lifecycle. Poor data foundations can quietly undermine every part of your operations—from compliance and reporting to customer service and decision-making.
Many of the most pressing issues in finance operations (failed audits, missed reporting deadlines, inaccurate forecasts) aren’t process failures. They’re data failures.
That’s why modern data management is about creating a clean, consistent and reliable foundation. When done right, the impact is felt across three critical areas:
1) Compliance
Regulators (like the FCA) are increasingly focused on how firms manage their data—not just what’s in it. You’re expected to track, reconcile and report on funds accurately and consistently, with a clear audit trail. Suboptimal data management increases the risk of missed deadlines, failed audits and reputational damage.
2) Operational resilience
When data is scattered across systems, spreadsheets and teams, your operations become brittle. Whereas clean, connected data reduces error rates, accelerates process and helps teams respond quickly to unexpected issues.
3) Business insight
Analytics are only as good as the inputs behind them. If you aren’t in control of your data, you can’t get full visibility of your business performance. With high-quality, well-managed data, teams can unlock genuine strategic insight—spotting trends early, understanding costs in real time and confidently scaling new initiatives.
What “good” data management looks like in 2025
Effective data management is built on repeatable, intelligent processes around how data flows through your organisation. A modern financial data stack should include:
Automated reconciliation
Spreadsheets are the enemy of smart data. Automated reconciliation ensures data integrity at scale, flagging mismatches instantly and freeing your team up to focus on data analysis, not alignment.
Seamless data ingestion & centralisation
A strong financial data stack automatically ingests your data regardless of its source or format. Feeds from processors, banks, ledgers or customer platforms, everything should be consolidated into a single environment, eliminating manual uploads and removing delays from the outset.
Standardisation
Formats and naming conventions should be normalised automatically, so data remains consistent regardless of its source.
Real-time validation
Anomalies, errors or missing values should be flagged early without any investigative work and before reports are generated.
Self-service visibility
Dashboards give your operations and compliance teams the chance to explore financial data without needing SQL or development support.
Four signs your current approach isn’t cutting it
If your current data management processes are holding your team back, these common warning signs might already be showing up in your day-to-day operations:
1) Reconciliation is draining your time
If your team is spending hours each day aligning transaction records and double-checking values in spreadsheets, that’s a red flag. Our industry data shows the average ops team loses 150+ hours per year to this task alone.
2) You’re dreading the next audit
Can you confidently pull accurate safeguarding reports from six months ago? Do you have proof of issue resolution? If not, you’re one late email away from a compliance nightmare.
3) Your data lives in silos
When each team or department has its own spreadsheets and systems, it’s impossible to create a reliable, real-time picture of business performance.
4) You’re spotting problems too late
Whether it’s a fraud anomaly, a variance in processor data or a gap in funds reconciliation—poor data management procedures often mean you’re discovering the issue after it’s already had an impact.
A better data mindset: Operational, not just regulatory
Too often, compliance becomes the default lens for how we talk about data. But the real opportunity is operational.
A strong data foundation isn’t just there to keep regulators happy. It gives your team the time, space and confidence to move faster, think bigger, and adapt quickly when things change.
- When your data is reliable and accessible, you can:
- Spot trends before they affect margins
- Resolve discrepancies before audit season
- Launch new products without overloading your ops team
- Focus on insights, not just inputs
This shift—from defensive data handling to proactive data intelligence—is what separates growing businesses from those stuck in fire-fighting mode.
Overhauling legacy tech doesn’t need to be disruptive
For many teams, the thought of improving data management conjures up a full-scale system replacement. But, in reality, the biggest wins often come from small but strategic changes:
- Replacing manual data prep with automated data reconciliation and validation
- Normalising inconsistent formats before they hit reporting workflows
- Embedding version control and sign-off into your existing processes
You don’t need to rip and replace everything. What matters is whether your tools are built for financial data—with its complexity, regulatory demands and need for auditability.
Generic BI dashboards and siloed spreadsheets weren’t designed for payments or reconciliation. They lack the intelligence, control and transparency needed when the stakes are high.
What you need is software that complements your existing infrastructure—integrating where it counts, and removing friction where it hurts.
What happens when your data works for you
Strong data management is the foundation for faster decisions, stronger performance and greater resilience. As regulatory expectations grow and operations scale, the pressure on financial data only increases.
Modernising how data flows through your business doesn’t have to mean a full system overhaul. But it does mean rethinking habits, reducing manual steps, and building processes that can scale. The sooner you start, the easier it becomes to stay ahead—of audits, of inefficiencies and of the competition.
Ready to see how Kani can take your data management to the next level?
