The future of banking is mobile. As the use of mobile for banking increases, so does financial crime and losses for banks and consumers. The banks are reducing their branch network, and utilising digital channels, to reduce cost and increase efficiency but this brings with it new challenges that need to be addressed.
Customers across Europe are rapidly switching to use their mobile phone as the preferred method to interact with their bank. The number of Europeans regularly using a mobile device for financial payments tripled from 2015 to 2016, with the figure expected to rise to 89% by 2020. Mobile banking use is increasing across all age groups. By 2018 almost everyone is expected to primarily use their mobile phone to access banking services, rather than any other channel. At the same time, the number of branch visits is expected to drop 35% between 2014 and 2020, accompanied by a 33% fall in the number of physical branches.
Meanwhile, card fraud across Europe continues to grow. Latest ECB data shows that fraudulent transactions conducted with cards issued in the Single European Payments Area amounted to €1.44 billion in 2013, up 8% from 2012. Losses on EU-issued cards due to ATM-related fraud attacks were 20% higher in 2016 than in 2014, up to €332m, and there were 24,000 ATM related fraud attacks in 2016.
In 2014 60% of mobile malware was found to specifically target financial information on devices, and by 2016 the number of users who encountered Android malware reached 305k worldwide. 95% of the top Android finance apps were hacked in 2014.
Understandably, among the top factors which deter people from adopting digital payments are fraud and security (65%) and privacy & data concerns (51%).
The size of the task is immense. The total EU fraud space comprises €4 trillion of spending and over 100 billion payment and other (non-payment) digital interactions.
The above-mentioned problems result from organised crime, whose proceeds impact all of Europe. All digital mobile bank customer interactions need further protection against risk, in order to protect the cybersecurity of European customers. Banks also need to carry out a transformation from retail branches to customers being served digitally. This helps achieve needed cost savings and efficiency gains, which again will benefit consumers.
Our objectives are to use technology to increase the cybersecurity of customers for European financial institutions.
Based on 15 years accumulated experience in the development and provision of mobile location technology, we are in a position to significantly contribute to the protection of customers from the risks, inconvenience, and actual loss from financial crime.
