03 Apr Five security concerns with mobile payment systems
With the popular adoption of Apple Pay, mobile payment systems have finally started to become commonplace. Although numerous mobile payment schemes have existed for years, only a few devices and a limited number of retailers ever supported them. Now that many more consumers are interested in using mobile payments, it is important to evaluate just how secure or reliable such payment schemes are. Before you link your finances to a mobile device in order to make impulse purchases, there are five primary issues you need to consider.
Most mobile payment systems require that you link one or more of your existing financial accounts to the mobile payment system. They might require your credit card, debit card, ATM card, or even a direct link to your checking account. This linking allows the mobile payment system to apply the charges for purchases immediately to your existing financial account. Obviously this makes purchases convenient, but is that really the best move for you financially?
If a mobile payment system is able to place charges onto your accounts immediately, you should have a few concerns:
- If a fraudulent charge occurs, how difficult is it to get the charge canceled?
- If a fraudulent charge occurs and money is taken from my account, how hard is it to get my money back?
- If a duplicate charge occurs, what is required to get the duplicate charge(s) removed?
- Can I set a maximum per-charge ceiling? Or a ceiling for charges on a daily, weekly, or monthly basis?
- Does the mobile payment system have a per-charge transaction confirmation?
- Will the ease and convenience of mobile payments cause me to impulse spend? Can my finances handle that?
- If I decide to stop using the mobile payment system, how challenging is it to divorce my financial account from the payment system?
You need to investigate any mobile payment system prior to joining to obtain answers to these questions. If you are not satisfied with those answers, then don’t use that mobile payment system.
There are some mobile payment systems that do not link directly to your existing financial accounts; instead you deposit money into them, similar to a gift card. These types of payment systems are less likely to cause significant harm to your finances in the event of a security breach, especially if you only deposit a small amount of money into the account, which you can handle losing if things go wrong.
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