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What is Mobile Banking? Is it Safe?

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Mobile banking (mBanking) or text (SMS) banking refers to online banking that occurs via mobile phone rather than via a PC (online banking). The earliest mobile banking services were offered over SMS, but with the introduction of smartphones and the Apple iOS and Google Android operating systems, mobile banking is now primarily offered through applications as opposed to through text messages or even a mobile browser.

Mobile banking allows you to review transactions, transfer funds, pay bills and check account balances via your mobile device. MBanking also offers enhanced security with SMS transaction notifications and the ability to turn card accounts on or off; the development of new technologies like mobile check deposit (where you simply take a picture of the check using your smartphone’s built-in camera) is contributing to the increasing popularity of mobile banking. Eventually, mobile phones may even replace automated teller machines (ATMs) and credit cards.

However, studies show that many Americans are still uncomfortable with mobile banking, citing security as a top concern. According to Javelin Strategy and Research, “Between 2009 and 2010, the number of consumers who rated mobile banking as ‘unsafe’ or ‘very unsafe’ increased by a shocking 54 percent.”

While banks are working to do their part, users have to take additional steps to make sure their mobile data is protected. Here are some tips for mobile bankers of all ages to help keep you safe while banking on the go:

  • Download your bank’s mobile application so you can be sure you are visiting the real bank every time and not a copycat site.
  • Connect to your bank’s mobile site or app securely by making sure that your wireless network is secure.
  • Never send sensitive information over an unsecured wireless network, such as in a hotel or cafe. Use a virtual private network software that protects your identity by ensuring that all web transactions (shopping, filling out forms, downloads) are secured through HTTPS. My favorite, Hotspot Shield VPN software, has been downloaded over 120million times.
  • If available, use additional layers of authentication in which the account holder authorizes various transactions via text message or phone calls with the bank to give an additional code.
  • Configure your device to auto-lock after a short period of nonuse.
  • Don’t store data you can’t afford to lose on an insecure device.
  • Use mobile security protection that offers multiple layers of protection including anti-theft, antivirus, antispyware, anti-phishing and app protection.

Robert Siciliano is an Identity Theft Expert to Hotspot Shield VPN. He is the author of 99 Things You Wish You Knew Before Your Identity Was Stolen See him discussing internet and wireless security on Good Morning America. Disclosures.

Online Banking Vs. Mobile Banking

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While PC-based online banking is not much older than a high school student, mobile banking is still in elementary school. With the proliferation of smartphones, however, online banking’s younger sibling is quickly catching up to the slightly more established option.

Banking through your PC’s web browser offers a full menu of services. You can easily and conveniently schedule payments, transfer funds, add new payees, open new accounts, apply for loans, view current and past statements, and access information about specific checks that have been deposited. A PC or Mac allows you to view an extensive array of details and options, giving you full control of your accounts.

Mobile banking is very popular internationally. In some parts of the world, traditional banking infrastructure is not consistently available, and so mobile banking is the primary banking option. With a few exceptions, mobile banking, typically conducted via mobile application, offers the same basic features as browser-based online banking. In particular, mobile banking emphasizes “transactional” features, such as bill payments, check deposits (where available, this feature allows a customer to take a picture of a check to be deposited), mobile person-to-person payments, and balancing checks.

Mobile banking can also offer additional security by enabling text-backs, which employ a customer’s phone as a second form of authentication when using either browser-based or mobile banking.

If you use your smartphone to access your bank’s website directly, the website may recognize that you are using a mobile browser and automatically offer you a dedicated application. If not, search your preferred mobile market or app store to see what your bank offers. Either way, it’s a good idea to give mobile banking a try. It’s a time-saver that can often be more secure than traditional online banking.

Robert Siciliano, personal security expert contributor to Just Ask Gemalto. Disclosures

Banking – How to Balance Security and Convenience With Online and Mobile Banking

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Users of online and mobile banking know that financial institutions have a layered security approach in place. Those layers include multifactor-authentication, which may mean requiring users to punch in a second security code or carry a key fob, as well as due diligence in identifying customers as real people whose identities haven’t been stolen, and consumer education.

These multilayers may not always be convenient, but they certainly are geared towards making your online banking experience more secure.

Both mobile and online banking reduces time and expenses by allowing customers to review transactions, transfer funds, pay bills, and check balances online or over your mobile carriers network from anywhere.

Enhanced security with SMS transaction notifications and the ability to turn card accounts on or off, and new technologies like mobile check deposit, in which you simply take a cell phone picture of the check, are contributing to the increasing popularity of mobile banking. Eventually, mobile phones may even replace ATMs and credit cards.

As convenient as this is, you still need to consider security.

Set a passlock to access your mobile that times out in one minute.

Set your computer’s operating system to automatically update critical security patches.

Keep your mobile operating system updated.

Make sure your firewall is turned on and protecting two way traffic.

Always run antivirus software on your PC and mobile, and set it to update virus definitions automatically.

Run a protected wireless network. Don’t bank with your mobile on a public Wi-Fi network.

Never click links within the body of an email. Instead, go to your favorites menu or type familiar addresses into the address bar.

Beware of SMiShing which is like phishing but it’s in the form of malicious text messages.

Robert Siciliano, personal security expert contributor to Just Ask Gemalto. Disclosures

Mobile Banking More Secure Than Computer E-Commerce?

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Mobile banking is on the rise for more reasons than convenience sake. In truth, it’s more secure than traditional online baking.  Accessing your banks mobile website or using your banks mobile application is inherently more secure than using a computer.

Why?

Computers are big targets for thieves. PC’s mostly run on Microsoft’s most hacked operating system, they typically contain a great deal of data, and they are vulnerable to viruses created by criminal hackers. Over the past decade criminals have learned the ins and outs of exploiting online banking using PC’s. In the past 15 years or so, the desktop computer has been hacked in every possible way, making the computer and the data it contains and transmits extremely vulnerable to fraud.

Mobile banking on the other hand is relatively new – the operating systems vary, viruses and other malware aren’t as prevalent and the technologies in handsets themselves vary greatly among manufacturers.

Computers are still the “low hanging fruit” while mobile phones aren’t as attractive due to computers being so vulnerable.

The mobile carriers’ networks are more difficult to hack than your home or local coffee shop’s wireless network. Mobile carrier services like 3G have a much higher level of encryption and aren’t open like broadband internet. Meaning you can’t just jump on someone’s 3G connection in most cases.

With mobile banking there is the added benefit of additional layers of authentication, in which the account holder authorizes various transactions via text message or call backs with an additional code, making mobile banking even more secure.

As mobile banking becomes more popular, investigate it and try for yourself. You will love the convenience and appreciate the security.

Robert Siciliano, personal security expert contributor to Just Ask Gemalto.

Mobile Banking Becoming an E-Commerce Staple

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Mobile banking, m-banking, or SMS banking refers to online banking that occurs via mobile phone or PDA rather than a PC. The earliest mobile banking services were offered over SMS, but with the introduction of smartphones and Apple iOS, mobile banking is being offered primarily through applications as opposed to text messages or a mobile browser.

Mobile banking reduces expenses by allowing customers to review transactions, transfer funds, pay bills, and check balances without relatively expensive phone calls to a bank’s customer service call center. More than half of all customer service calls already come in from mobile phones, and studies show consumers are twice as likely to have a cell phone than cash when out and about. Younger consumers, who are most likely to carry cell phones, are also heavy debit card users who require frequent balance checks.

Enhanced security with SMS transaction notifications and the ability to turn card accounts on or off, and new technologies like mobile check deposit, in which you simply take a cell phone picture of the check, are contributing to the increasing popularity of mobile banking. Eventually, mobile phones may even replace ATMs and credit cards.

About 10% of U.S. households currently use mobile banking, according to market research firm Nielsen, and Forrester predicts that one in five adults in the U.S. will be useing mobile banking by 2015:

“Consumer adoption of smartphones and increasing use of the mobile Web will drive sustained growth of casual, informational use of mobile banking — to check balances, review transactions, or receive alerts. Creating preference for mobile banking broadly will require banks to deliver more obvious value and superior execution than other channels offer. Functionality like mobile remote deposit capture and contactless mobile payments alone, though, will not anchor mobile banking the way that bill payment and account transfers have done for online banking. Channel managers must address issues of duplicate functionality, marginal user experiences, and a general failure to exploit the most valuable aspects of the channel if mobile banking is to become a critical part of how consumers manage their accounts.”

Standard, PC-based online banking is holding steady at around 40%, banks like USAA and Bank of America are reporting big increases in mobile banking in the last two years.

Like regular online banking, mobile banking won’t be for everyone. But as more banks and credit unions recognize the financial efficiency of mobile banking, they will invest in applications that make banking that much more convenient for their customers. And as those customers take advantage of the timesaving features provided by their banks, mobile banking will grow exponentially.

Robert Siciliano is a personal security expert contributor to Just Ask Gemalto. (Disclosures)