Tampa Bay, FL—March 1, 2016—Mobile payment security is still in its infancy—a fact made evident as more than half (54 percent) of businesses reported a security or data breach involving payment data (1), prompting concerns among consumers reluctant to take advantage of the convenience of mobile payment options. Though mobile wallet adoption is slow on the uptake, over the next five years mobile devices will reportedly be used in making payments 175 percent more often (2).
Per Monica Eaton-Cardone, COO and co-founder of Chargebacks911 and eConsumerServices, while electronic payments technology provides merchants with ways to increase sales through convenience and track customers’ buying patterns, if mobile payment solutions are to take hold, security measures must be overhauled and consumers need to be educated about them.
Highly publicized credit card breaches last year put security at the top of the consumer’s list of mobile payment concerns. In fact, it appears to be the biggest consideration holding back more widespread use and has merchants rethinking security solutions. A recent survey found that over 75 percent of the respondents prioritized payment security as the most important feature of a mobile wallet offering. (1)
As an the executive heading two companies that together provide solutions for both ends of the merchant-consumer line, Eaton-Cardone thinks the answer to improved m-commerce security is a two-pronged approach: one-part increased security measures by merchants, in conjunction with all-out consumer security education that extends across the entire range of electronic payment solutions consumers have access to, while at the same time, advancing the security of payments and consumer identity with standardized best practices that run end to end.
“Every transaction is a point of exchange based on trust. Mobile payments remove even more tangibility from the consumer end of the process, so they must be educated as to best practices for its use,” Eaton-Cardone said. “Additionally, with fraudsters looking to target the weak link in the chain, merchants bear responsibility in implementing security solutions such as point-to-point encryption and tokenization to remove hackable payment data and take payment credentials out of the reach of fraudulent users.”
Eaton-Cardone contends that the above changes are needed now. Over the next five years, mobile point-of-sale transactions, and particularly the near field communication (NFC), contactless payment ecosystem, will become more pervasive. It is projected that it will be used nearly three times more often. Naturally, where there are more users, there is more money, and thus more potential for fraud. And with the 50+ year-old consumers representing the web’s largest and fastest growing constituency, security and education must be in place for rapid adoption. (2)
1. "Payment Security Issues Worry Retailers." Payment Security Issues Worry Retailers. N.p., n.d. Web. 22 Feb. 2016. eweek.com/small-business/payment-security-issues-worry-retailers.html
2. "Talking Security with Iovation at Mobile Payment Innovations Summit | Payment Week." Payment Week. N.p., 17 Feb. 2016. Web. 22 Feb. 2016. paymentweek.com/2016-2-17-talking-security-with-iovation-at-mobile-payment-innovations-summit-9663/
