Filings buzz in the payments sector: 23% increase in cybersecurity mentions since Q2

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entions of cybersecurity within the filings of companies in the payments sector rose 39% between the first and second quarters of 2021. In total, the frequency of sentences related to cybersecurity between July 2020 and June 2021 was 121% higher than in 2016 when GlobalData first began to track the key issues referred to in company filings.

When companies in the payments sector publish annual and quarterly reports, ESG reports and other filings, GlobalData analyses the text and identifies individual sentences that relate to disruptive forces facing companies in the coming years.

To assess whether cybersecurity is featuring more in the summaries and strategies of companies in the payments sector, two measures were calculated. Firstly, we looked at the percentage of companies which have mentioned cybersecurity at least once in filings during the past twelve months - this was 92% compared to 82% in 2016. Secondly, we calculated the percentage of total analysed sentences that referred to cybersecurity.

Of the 50 biggest employers in the payments sector, Grupo Elektra SAB de CV was the company which referred to cybersecurity the most between July 2020 and June 2021. GlobalData identified 39 cybersecurity-related sentences in the Mexico-based company's filings - 1.4% of all sentences. Sberbank Rossii mentioned cybersecurity the second most - the issue was referred to in 1.3% of sentences in the company's filings. Other top employers with high cybersecurity mentions included BBVA, American Express Co and Banco Santander SA.

Across all companies in the payments sector the filing published in the second quarter of 2021 which exhibited the greatest focus on cybersecurity came from Intesa Sanpaolo SpA. Of the document's 3,378 sentences, 51 (1.5%) referred to cybersecurity.

This analysis provides an approximate indication of which companies are focusing on cybersecurity and how important the issue is considered within the payments sector.