Viewpoint: Are mobile phone payments safe?

The EAST Payments Task Force (EPTF) is currently focusing on payment research. In a website research poll on mobile phone payments that ran from May to August 2016 the question ‘Are you satisfied your payment details are safe when buying goods or services using your mobile phone?’ was asked.  58% of respondents were not satisfied, 28% were satisfied and 14% were completely satisfied.  The poll results can be seen in the chart below.

There are currently more than 7.8 billion mobile phones in use around the world. With the number of phones in operation now exceeding the number of people on the planet, banks and stores are using this facility to reach their customers and see the saturation of mobile phones as an opportunity to make the consumer payment experience a convenient and seamless one.

Consumers can now use NFC technology on their smart phone to make contactless payments in stores and to pay for goods and services using in-app payment tools or directly using the internet browser on the phone.

In making payments easier to manage and more accessible for consumers, there is an underlying risk that access to that information is also made easier for the criminal element, aiming to capture the payment data used by unsuspecting consumers.

While the industry continues to build solutions and barriers to this criminal activity the EPTF is examining consumer behaviour and this poll result is an indication of how consumers view the safety of their payment details when using mobile phones to pay for goods and services.

The current website research poll, which closes at the end of April, is also on payment security and asks those who have had a payment card compromised for information on where the compromise took place.  To take it, and to see all past results, visit the ATM Research Page on this website.