Tag: mobile commerce

Security of mobile payments questioned by FTC

Mobile payments are becoming all the rage around the world, but there are major security concerns  that have been gaining more attention in some countries. Mobile commerce is on the rise in the U.S., and while that means more consumers are becoming acclimated to mobile payments, it also means that malicious parties are beginning to target these consumers. The U.S. Federal Trade Commission has released a new report highlighting the potential  threats that exist in the competitive world of mobile payments.

Report highlights threats of the mobile world

The report, entitled “Paper, Plastic, or Mobile?,” sheds light on the issue of mobile payments fraud in the U.S. The Federal Trade Commission has drawn upon the vast amount of information it has received from companies and organizations heavily invested in the mobile commerce industry for the report. The report also contains the concerns that consumers have raised over the issue of mobile security and commerce, with fraud and identity theft being among the most worrisome of issues.

Security lax when it comes to mobile commerce

The report notes that the concept of mobile payments has been a very attractive prospect for years. Despite the anticipation surrounding mobile payments, however, relatively little has been done to ensure the security of mobile commerce. The Federal Trade Commission suggests that there are various ways in which a consumer’s financial information can be stolen and exploited and that some of the security issues that consumers face are inherent in many of the most popular mobile commerce platforms.

Credit cards considered most secure option for consumers

While the report suggests that mobile payments are very effective for purposes such as bill payments and shopping, the Federal Trade Commission remains unconvinced that mobile devices like smartphones and tablets provide enough security to make mobile payments feasible. The agency claims that credit cards offer the strongest security for consumers, especially when it comes to the matter of fraud.

Keynote is using the company as an example of how some retailers are improving site performance.

The results of the Keynote Mobile Commerce Performance Index for the week that ended on March 10 have been released, and W.W. Granger Inc. topped the list with an exceptional mcommerce performance in both its load time and its successful completions.

These are the two main factors that are taken into consideration by the index when it issues its scores.

During the most recent week of the index, the mcommerce site for W.W. Grainger loaded with an average speed of 4.30 seconds and was able to completely and successfully load 99.46 percent of the time. By combining those two factors, the website earned a score on the index of 938 out of a possible 1,000 points.

The next mcommerce website on the index didn’t load nearly as quickly at almost a full second slower.

HSN Inc., the TV retailer, earned the second place with its 5.23 second load time and its 99.56 percent success rate. Its score was quite close to that of Grainger, at 931. In third place was Barnes & Noble, which loaded within 5.47 seconds and had a 99.46 percent success rate. That company earned a score of 909.

The fourth place position was taken by Toolfetch.com LLC. Its load time was actually far better than that of Grainger, at 3.24 seconds, on average. However, its success rate was 99.02 percent, which brought its score to 895 and held it from achieving one of the top three positions. Target Corp snatched up the fifth spot this week, though its load time was considerably slower than those ahead of it, at 8.36 seconds. Its success rate, however, was better than the company that ranked first, at 99.67 percent. Its score was 871.

Grainger currently holds the 76th position in the Internet Retailer Mobile 400, with HSN at 14 and Barnes and Noble positioned at 31. Toolfetch is currently ranked at 248, while Target has the 34th position.

Over the entire mcommerce index, the average load time for that week was recorded to be 9.67 seconds, while the average success rate was 98.82 percent. The average score among all thirty of the businesses was 701.