Security of mobile payments exceeds that of online shopping

Thursday, February 12, 2015 - 09:53 by Paul Tissington

Mobile payments service provider, Zapp, has argued that people are better able to carry out secure transactions when using a mobile phone than if they are buying goods or services from a traditional e-commerce site, according to TechWeek Europe.

Company spokesperson, David Emsworth, explained that the mobile payments ecosystem is evolving in a way that ensures consumers can shop safely when they are on the move, using their handsets as digital wallets, so that they can carry out safe shopping online as well as in-store.

Of course, Emsworth admits that one of the reasons that the mobile payments industry has not been afflicted with any major security issue so far is that it is still in its nascent phase, far from achieving the kind of mainstream attention of other payment solutions and retail platforms.

This leaves open the question of what risks will develop in the future and whether payment providers are taking rigorous enough steps at the moment to prepare for any exploits that might be dreamt up by cybercriminals.

In spite of this, Emsworth asserted that making a payment from a mobile device was currently safer than doing so from a laptop computer. But consumers do not perceive this to be the case, because the security measures that allow for safe shopping online from traditional PCs are more visible.

Antivirus software and the on-site security measures that retailers roll out are deliberately highlighted to users so that they know when they are being protected. Similar steps may be taken to make mobile payments unambiguously appear to be offering higher levels of security, even if under the surface, these solutions are already in place.

It is impossible for all threats to be stamped out, whether you are shopping from a mobile device or via a computer. But retailers and payment service providers are fighting to make things more secure.