Advancements in mobile payment security keep risks under control – study

The guide ‘Is Mobile the Winner in Payment Security?’ outlines several advantages of mobile payments relative to physical and ecommerce transactions. Tokenization, device-specific cryptograms and two-factor authentication are described as key improvements positioning mobile payments appeal to both consumers and vendors.

Tokenization is the security solution that is pushing mobile payments ahead of card payments in consumer sensitive financial information protection in the continuous race to stay ahead of hackers and other threats, according to the ISACA guide.

The cryptogram ensures that the payment originated from the card-holder’s device. If a hacker obtains mobile payment transaction data, the cryptogram that is sent to the POS terminal with the token is unable to be used on another mobile device. This helps render any stolen data unforgeable and useless.

Two-factor authentication provides an additional layer to guard against mobile payment fraud by utilizing two independent mechanisms for authentication.
If a mobile device containing a mobile wallet is lost, the mobile device can be remotely erased. And since the consumer’s payment card information is not on the mobile device, the payment cards do not need to be replaced.

Like consumers, merchants stand to benefit from mobile payments in many instances. The report notes that integrating mobile payments into a merchant’s business creates opportunities for more robust customer loyalty programs and allows for purchases in circumstances when customers do not have access to their physical payment card.

The guide encourages vendors that adopt mobile payment options to regularly re-evaluate risk control measures to ensure any new scenarios that could emerge are sufficiently addressed.