Tag: mobile payments security

As a rising number of people use their smartphones to make purchases, cyber criminals will up their efforts, too.

According to the results of a recent survey, most cyber security experts (87 percent) now feel that as mobile payments become more popular over the next 12 months, it will also bring about a rise in the number of associated data breaches.

Equally, 42 percent of surveyed cyber security experts had also already used that transaction method this year.

The survey involved the participation of 900 experts in cyber security. It was conducted by ISACA and it suggested that mobile payments are likely to progress without any real barrier from security concerns. Among the respondents to this survey, only 23 percent said that they felt that smartphone payments were actually a safe way to store personal information. Another 47 percent said that they felt that this type of transaction is entirely unsecure. An additional 30 percent of respondents said that they were unsure as to whether or not the transactions were secure.

Regardless of the risk that is associated with security, it looks as though mobile payments are moving ahead.

Nearly 89 percent felt that cash remains the most secure way for payments transactions to be completed, today. That said, only 9 percent of the respondents said that this was their preferred method of payment.

The ISACA survey participants were asked to provide their opinions with regards to the types of vulnerabilities that could be associated with using smartphones to complete payments transactions. Among them, the mobile security concerns that were identified were:

• WiFi – 26 percent
• Loss or theft of the smartphone – 21 percent
• Shmishing (text message phishing)/phishing – 18 percent
• Weak password protection – 13 percent
• User/human error – 7 percent

The report also indicated that mobile payments based on contactless and NFC technology will be continuing their growth. As a whole, the marketplace for these transactions is predicted by Future Market Insights to be worth $2.8 trillion in five years. The cyber security experts felt that the best way to boost the security of the transactions is to use two authentication methods (66 percent) and to require a short-term authentication code (18 percent).

Consumers are showing concern for the security and capabilities of mobile payments services

Mobile payments are growing quickly, but consumers are still not convinced that new payment technology will take hold. According to a new survey from Trustev, many consumers are still concerned about the security issues that exist in the mobile payments space and they are not certain that using a payment platform is in their best interests. As such, many have been slow to embrace mobile payments platforms, even if these platforms offer secure and convenient services.

Survey shows 1 in 50 iPhone 6 owners use Apple Pay regularly

according to the survey from Trustev, only one in 50 of the people that own an iPhone 6 actually make use of Apple Pay, Apple’s new mobile payments service, on a regular basis. The platform was released late last year and has managed to find some traction with consumers, but it has yet to become a commercial success. One of the reasons consumers are not showing aggressive interest in mobile payments may be a confidence issue.

Lack of confidence in mobile payments services is leading to low adoption among consumers

In the past, companies releasing new payments services have shown relatively little confidence in these services, which has had a significant impact on consumer adoption. Consumers have expressed concerns over modern payment services as well and this lack of confidence may be making mobile payments, as a whole, unattractive to consumers. Security is another issue that mobile payments faces, and security concerns are beginning to drive consumers away from new payment services.

Payment fraud is a major issue that organizations in the mobile payments field must worry about

Payment fraud is becoming a major concern for those involved in the mobile payments space. According to Chargeback911, payment fraud caused approximately $32 billion in financial damage in the United States in 2014. This is a 38% increase over the damage it had caused in 2013. Fraudulent payments are not restricted to the conventional commerce place, of course, and the mobile payments sector also faces the danger that fraud represents.