Banking has gone digital. Nearly every major bank offers both an online portal as well as a mobile app, and people seem to prefer it that way. A recent PwC survey found that 46% of consumers only use online banking, a massive jump from their previous survey in 2012, in which only 27% used online banking exclusively. For banks and other financial institutions, offering an online app that allows either online or mobile banking access is now a necessity when looking at those numbers.
For banks and other financial institutions, offering an online app that allows either online or mobile banking access is now a necessity when looking at those numbers. Users crave the convenience that comes with banking on the go, and while the advantages that come with being able to perform personal banking on your mobile or computer is undeniable, another question still persists: Just how secure are these online banking apps?
Research that was released at the end of 2017 may offer an answer to that question. The research, carried out at the University of Birmingham, found security issues in mobile banking apps that could leave millions of their users open to attacks. The main issue they found pertains to a flaw in certificate pinning, which meant that tests were failing to detect “a serious vulnerability that could let attackers take control of a victim’s online banking,” The Register said.
It’s security issues like this that show just how important it is to cover all your bases when developing digital banking apps. While digital banking can help foster new connections and offer new and innovative services, thus bringing more gains for financial institutions, digital banking also carries plenty of risk.