Tag: mobile payments security

PCI Security publishes guidelines for mobile security

The PCI Security Standards Council, a global forum for the development of payment security standards, has published new guidelines to help educate the world’s merchants on the issue of mobile security and how it relates to mobile commerce. Consumers have been growing more interested in mobile payments in recent years, creating significant demand for merchants to adopt mobile commerce systems. As these merchants become more accommodating of consumer demand, security is becoming an increasingly important issue.

Guidelines expected to help merchants make mobile commerce more secure

The new guidelines from PCI Security are meant to help merchants understand the complexities that exist in the world of mobile security. The guidelines may help merchants better protect their customers as they become more accepting of mobile commerce. PCI Security has put strong focus on mobile transactions that make use of payment card data, rather than transactions made directly through a bank account. Connecting a payment card to a mobile device is becoming more common, as consumers consider this a more convenient and secure way to participate in mobile commerce.

Mobile security will help secure growth of mobile commerce market

According to a recent study from Juniper Research, a leading market research firm, mobile transactions are expected to reach $1.3 trillion globally by 2015. This is four times higher than the current level of mobile transactions volume. The firm suggests that this steep increase in mobile commerce is due to businesses becoming more interested in ensuring they can accommodate the needs of mobile consumers. In order for this growth to become a reality, however, businesses will have to adopt better security features to protect consumers.

Evolving threats may make it difficult to ensure security

Mobile security continues to be a major area of concern in the realm of mobile commerce. PCI Security’s new guidelines are expected to help merchants adopt better security standards for their payment systems, but the constantly changing security landscape may make it difficult for businesses to stay up-to-speed with the most current threats that exist in the mobile space.

Instructions have been released to help to decrease the risk associated with transactions in certain areas.

The Payment Card Industry (PCI) Security Standards Council has just released new merchant guidance to help to increase the security available while accepting mobile payments, which is an inherently risky area.

It is recommended that card acquirers and issuers, and banking institutions should apply this guidance.

These types of institution should help to provide this mobile payments guidance while assisting merchants with security in end to end transactions. This, according to Steve Kenneally from the American Bankers Association Center for Regulatory Compliance. He added that “Shining a spotlight on the need to improve payment security is always a great idea.” And said that “Providing specific recommendations on how to achieve a higher level of security is even better.”

The mobile payments environment must be made secure before consumers can be ensured that it is safe.

Kenneally said that his organization anticipates that the PCI guidelines will be able to be used as an additional important tool that can be used by acquirers in order to boost the security of transactions through merchants.

Among the mobile payments security issues that were addressed within this new guidance from the PCI Council are the following:

• Account data entry risks connected with smartphones and tablets, including the information transmitted through the devices as well as the data that is stored within those gadgets.
• The procedures that should be followed by merchants in order to make certain of the security on a physical and transactional level with the devices that are used for the acceptance of the mobile payments.
• Instructions for the various components that should be applied to the acceptance of the transactions, such as software, hardware, and the use of various different acceptance solutions, in addition to considerations regarding the relationship with the customer him or herself.

The PCI guidelines, said Kenneally, take into account that some of the qualities that make accepting mobile payments as appealing to merchants as it is can also offer opportunities to fraudsters. Therefore, it is very important to take specific and careful action to avoid risks as much as is possible.