As the financial sector undergoes accelerated digital transformation, operational resilience has become a critical challenge for all organizations. The implementation of the European DORA (Digital Operational Resilience Act) regulation on January 16, 2023, marks a major turning point in the digital security framework for the financial sector. With a deadline set for January 17, 2025, for compliance, financial institutions face a significant challenge, with potential penalties reaching several million dollars.

For financial institutions offering consumer credit, leasing, or deferred payment solutions, this new regulation represents a major challenge. Beyond mere regulatory compliance, DORA offers a unique opportunity to sustainably strengthen operational resilience and customer trust.

Digital Operational Resilience: A New Regulatory Paradigm

DORA's Fundamental Objectives

The Digital Operational Resilience Act establishes a harmonized regulatory framework across Europe. As stated by the European Securities and Markets Authority (ESMA), this regulation aims to strengthen the European financial sector's ability to maintain its critical operations, even during major IT incidents. Unlike previous regulations that primarily focused on data protection, DORA takes a holistic approach to digital resilience.

Scope of Application and Affected Stakeholders

DORA's scope extends well beyond traditional financial institutions. Financing platforms offering innovative solutions such as Buy Now Pay Later, leasing, or factoring are particularly affected. These players must not only ensure compliance of their own systems but also guarantee the resilience of their ecosystem of partners and technology providers.

Compliance Timeline Through 2025

The transition period until January 17, 2025, requires a methodical and progressive approach. According to a recent study, over 60% of financial institutions consider IT infrastructure modernization as an essential prerequisite for their regulatory compliance. Organizations must first conduct a thorough assessment of their current systems, identify gaps against DORA requirements, and then implement necessary changes.

The Five Essential Pillars of DORA Compliance

IT Risk Management

IT risk management forms the cornerstone of DORA. This requirement goes far beyond simple system monitoring. It requires implementing a comprehensive digital risk governance framework. Modern risk management platforms must integrate a central repository allowing a consolidated view of all technological risks. This repository must be accompanied by detailed mapping of IT assets and system interdependencies.

Incident Reporting

DORA introduces strict requirements for IT incident reporting. Financial institutions must now implement a structured and standardized notification system. This system must categorize incidents according to their severity and potential impact on activities. Notification deadlines to authorities are also strictly regulated, requiring increased team reactivity. The Basikon Core Lending solution integrates automated incident detection and reporting functionalities, facilitating compliance with these new requirements.

Digital Resilience Testing

Regular resilience testing becomes mandatory under DORA. These tests must simulate realistic scenarios of cyberattacks and major operational incidents. The low-code approach proves particularly relevant for rapidly developing and adapting test scenarios. Organizations must conduct advanced penetration testing, business continuity exercises, and disaster recovery simulations.

Compliance Challenges for Financial Institutions

Technical and Operational Complexity

DORA compliance represents a considerable challenge for financial institutions, particularly due to the technical complexity of the requirements. According to a study cited by FintechOS, nearly 78% of financial institutions consider the complexity of their existing IT systems as the main obstacle to their DORA compliance by 2025. Organizations must implement systems capable of mapping all their IT assets, identifying and assessing risks, and implementing appropriate protection measures.

Impact on Existing Information Systems

For many financial institutions, DORA compliance will require significant modifications to their existing information systems. These adaptations include upgrading incident monitoring and detection systems, improving regulatory reporting capabilities, and strengthening security measures. These modifications can be particularly complex for organizations relying on legacy systems or rigid architectures.

The Low-Code Solution: A Compliance Accelerator

Advantages of the Low-Code Approach

Facing DORA compliance challenges, low-code platforms offer considerable advantages. As demonstrated by Leascorp's experience, which successfully deployed new commercial channels in less than a week using Basikon's low-code platform, implementation speed can make all the difference. These solutions allow you to:

- Develop and deploy compliance applications up to 10 times faster than traditional methods - Easily adapt systems to each organization's specificities - Modify workflows based on evolving regulatory requirements - Integrate new functionalities without disrupting existing operations

Basikon: A Platform Adapted to DORA Requirements

Key Compliance Features

The Basikon platform has been designed to meet the specific needs of financial institutions in terms of regulatory compliance, including DORA requirements. It offers:

- An integrated ICT risk management framework compliant with industry standards - Robust incident detection and reporting mechanisms - Testing and simulation tools to assess operational resilience - Advanced third-party vendor management functionalities

Client Cases and Experience Feedback

Basikon's effectiveness for regulatory compliance is demonstrated by numerous client cases in the financial sector. For example, Leascorp successfully improved its productivity and increased its network by 300% with 32,000 clients while maintaining regulatory compliance thanks to Basikon's low-code platform.

Conclusion

DORA compliance represents a major challenge for European financial institutions but also an opportunity to sustainably strengthen their digital operational resilience against growing threats. Low-code solutions like those offered by Basikon provide a pragmatic and effective approach to meeting this challenge.

By combining rapid deployment, flexibility, automation, and simplified management of regulatory updates, these platforms enable financial institutions to comply with DORA requirements while optimizing their resources and strengthening their competitiveness.

With the January 2025 deadline rapidly approaching, now is the time to assess your DORA readiness and explore solutions that will allow you to transform this regulatory obligation into a strategic advantage.

Discover how Basikon can accelerate your compliance journey and strengthen your operational resilience. Request your personalized demo today.

FAQ

What are the penalties for non-compliance with DORA?

Non-compliance with DORA can result in significant financial penalties, potentially reaching several million dollars, as well as operational restrictions that could significantly impact business activities.

How does DORA align with other existing regulations?

DORA complements existing regulations such as GDPR by specifically focusing on digital operational resilience in the financial sector. It integrates into the existing regulatory ecosystem while strengthening cybersecurity requirements.

What is the average cost of DORA compliance?

Costs vary depending on organization size and digital maturity level. Adopting a low-code solution like Basikon significantly reduces these costs while accelerating compliance implementation.

What are typical implementation timeframes?

A DORA compliance project typically requires between 12 and 18 months, depending on organizational complexity. Using a low-code platform can significantly reduce these timeframes.

How does a low-code platform facilitate ongoing compliance?

A low-code platform enables rapid system adaptation to regulatory changes, maintains up-to-date documentation, and automates compliance controls, thus reducing operational burden.