MYPINPAD announces new campaign to explore how consumers feel about convenience versus security in online commerce
August 9, 2016: Recent news reports about increased levels of fraud across the likes of Amazon Prime, Uber, eBay and Vodafone have opened up a debate on whether the digital commerce industry has compromised consumer security in favour of user experience.
Are the rising fraud levels attributable to the ‘fragmented’ approach that the fintech industry takes in dealing with fraud? Have we reached a tipping point? Would consumers feel more positive about a brand that proactively seeks to protect them, adding multi-factor, transaction appropriate security for online transactions?
MYPINPAD, an enabler of multi-factor authentication for touchscreen devices such as mobile phones and tablets, will aim to answer these critical questions during a campaign set to investigate consumer attitudes towards security and asses the biggest threats to consumer trust.
David Poole, Business Development Director of MYPINPAD said, “Since the start of the digital commerce revolution, the onus has been on making the checkout, authentication and payment processes as swift and easy as possible. But how would consumers feel about their online transactions if there was a clear proactive element of security protection – even if it created some and perhaps small degree of friction? Have rising fraud rates and headline stories about scammed customers made the public rethink their payment security?”
In April this year, MYPINPAD released exclusive consumer research, which showed that 85% of consumers would value the opportunity to authenticate large financial transactions with their mobile. Now, using this research, the mobile authentication pioneers are delving deeper into consumer attitudes.
Looking at how the payments industry needs to respond to these demands, David Poole pointed towards the need for universal ID and verification methods to cultivate consumer trust. “‘Segmented’ is a good way to describe the payments industry but ‘fragmented’ might be even better. It is fantastic that we are working in an industry so innovative and forward looking. However, innovation can often lead to new security risks. Another way to pay or another method of ID&V can be another potential open door to fraudsters.”
The industry-wide acceptance and deployment of Chip&PIN in 2006 serves to demonstrate the positive impact such an initiative can achieve, reducing fraud in face-to-face transactions by 70%. We have the same opportunity again — to deliver familiar, strong multi-factor authentication via our mobiles.
“Instead of divergence, we should be concentrating more on convergence to achieve this unification. For example, the FIDO Alliance, of which MYPINPAD is an active member, is endeavouring to provide a single framework to standardise the on-line authentication process. We see a future when consumer trust is co-dependent on the action of the banks and the brands, but also a consumer’s own active ability to responsibly secure personal data. Our digital profiles are growing, our individual consumer ‘avatars’ are constantly active online making purchases, banking, and socialising. This is where consumer empowering ID&V technology becomes vital.”