As reported by Statista in 2019, there are 57 million users of mobile banking only in the United States and the share of US banks offering bill payments through mobile bank accounts is 86%. The role of mobile apps in banking transactions is escalating due to their ease of use and fast payment transfer rate. Mobile banking provides ease of transfer money from anywhere, account holders don’t have to visit banks for payment transfer they can do that from their mobiles. According to Forbes, there has been a swift rise in the usage of mobile banking during COVID-19.
The security of mobile bank accounts and transactions is still a question among the masses. Common people still have serious concerns over the use of mobile apps as an alternative to banks. Now, this is the responsibility of mobile banking services providers to answer the above concern. A mobile bank should adopt stringent measures for the security of its user while ensuring the best customer experience. These five techniques secure mobile banking in the best possible way.
1. Two-Factor Authentication or OTP
As username password authentication is not a secure method of signing in. According to research, the average user has 70 to 80 passwords. This is not easy for an average user to memorize all of his passwords and if he memorizes all of them, account safety is still a question because it is easy to crack passwords. Online mobile banks must go for 2-Factor authentication or One Time Password (OTP) during account sign in. In 2-FA or OTP a code is sent to the user’s mobile number or email after verifying username and password. After the verification of the code, the user is permitted to enter the account. If a criminal has access to the user’s username and password, he will not be allowed to sign in because he has to provide the code that was sent to the actual user’s mobile or email. This authentication method is very difficult to bypass for cybercriminals
2. KYC solution
Banks should use Know Your Customer (KYC) for securing mobile banking apps. The process of verifying the user through KYC is done remotely and takes only 30-60 seconds. KYC involves these verifications to streamline mobile banking apps
Biometric Identity Verification
Users are verified through thumb or facial verification. Biometric verification is the most secure method of user onboarding, and it is well appreciated by users also. As per the reports of Deloitte, 72% of the US users feel delighted to use biometric identification for the security of mobiles for financial transactions. Also, voice verification comes into play in increasingly more cases.
Document Verification
The name, age and address is verified through document verification. The document authenticity is also verified that it is issued by some government authority or not. Tempered, modified or photoshopped documents are not accepted for verification. A user must provide his authentic documents to get himself verified.
Consent Verification
The most advanced method to secure big transactions is consent verification. Banks should set some limit for transactions, for instance, users performing transactions higher than 100k dollars have to verify it with a written or printed consent. The user just has to upload the picture of himself holding the consent.
3. SMS or Push Notifications
Online banks must send push notifications through apps or send SMS to the registered phone number on every transaction. Banks should enable their apps to send the daily account report to the user by notifications. Through this, a user gets informed about every activity on his account. It is an old service but still provides a security layer to the mobile account. Most of the banks are availing this service already.
4. End-to-End Encryption
This is a type of communication in which only communicating users can have access to data. The communication is encrypted and no third party like internet provider, telecommunication service providers or even the medium used for communication can have the access to cryptographic keys. Without those keys, it is almost impossible for cybercriminals to access the communion between mobile banking entities.
5. Behaviour tracking
Mobile banks should implement ongoing behaviour tracking on their apps. Such data can be used for future decision making like improving UI/UX design, which is a secure method of authentication for the prevention of frauds. This will help the Research and Development process of businesses
The tracking includes:
- Movements and touches
- Activity log
- Apps host operating systems and gadgets
- User actions
To Wrap it Up:
As mobile banking is the future of the banking sector, it should provide secure and convenient mobile apps for users. Confidence of users in mobile apps will help mobile banking grow rapidly. The threats regarding account takeover or identity theft can be reduced using the above techniques in mobile banking apps. These techniques not only provide security but also helps in enhancing reliability and convenience.
