Mobiles not trusted for e-commerce

Consumers are not convinced that a secure platform exists for online mobile transactions

More than two-thirds of mobile users would not consider using their phone to bank or shop online, according to a new study by Unisys.

The Unisys Security Index surveyed 13,296 consumers across 14 countries about their mobile habits and how secure they feel when conducting online transactions.

Only nine per cent currently use mobile phones to conduct transactions involving credit card payments, money transfers and deposits, and six out of 10 do not trust their mobile devices to provide a secure transaction.

"There has been unprecedented growth in the number of cellphone users and the advancement of mobile technologies," said Tim Kelleher, vice president of enterprise security at Unisys.

"But telecoms providers, online retailers and financial institutions seem unable to convince consumers that a secure platform exists for online mobile transactions.

"There is a great deal of money to be made in mobile payments, but only when consumers believe that the security of the transaction meets or exceeds the freedom of using mobile devices."

The UK is particularly wary, according to the survey. Just one per cent of owners use a mobile phone or personal organiser to conduct financial transactions, compared to 21 per cent of Germans.

Most consumers generally perceive banks as having the best security for mobile transactions when compared to telecoms providers and online retailers, the study found.

However, trust in banks varies greatly from country to country. Italians are twice as likely to trust a bank to secure an online transaction via a mobile device as respondents in Malaysia, for example.

"The fact that consumers trust banks more than others to secure mobile transactions bodes well for the financial services industry," said Kelleher.

"But banks must still find ways to work alongside telecoms providers and retailers to leverage their innovation while educating consumers on the realities of mobile banking and payment security.

"Collectively, they must prove that conducting a financial transaction via a mobile device is as secure as doing so on a desktop computer or in front of a bank teller at a local branch."

Despite this reluctance, analyst firm Juniper Research forecasts that 41.5 billion mobile financial service transactions, generating over $587bn, will be made by the end of 2011, driven predominately by users in developing countries.