Columinate has published its latest annual digital banking report, revealing the state of the current digital banking landscape in South Africa – including worrying new scam trends.<\/p>\n
According to the group’s report – which is based on the responses of over 13,000 South African e-bankers to gauge their behaviours and experiences when using digital platforms – there is a growing preference among users to use apps for their banking needs.<\/p>\n
This includes doing anything they can to avoid having to go to a bank branch –\u00a0from applying for new bank cards, opening new accounts, or even getting recent bank statements.<\/p>\n
“It makes sense for the banks to focus on creating a secure, well-rounded service offering through their mobile banking applications,” the group said.<\/p>\n
However, with the growth in using digital channels, security problems have also cropped up.<\/p>\n
“It\u2019s discouraging to discover that digital banking fraud is at an all-time high, and there\u2019s been a steady increase in this trend over the last four years,” the group said.<\/p>\n
While SITEisfaction recorded a marked increase in the awareness of potential fraud and scams across the board, 22% of users still fell victim to these criminals in the last year, up from 19% in 2017, 14% in 2016, and 12% in 2015.<\/p>\n
A few new scams also made their debut in 2018, including:<\/p>\n
“When it comes to the world of mobile banking, security ought to be the utmost priority and concern \u2013 as technological counter-measures evolve, so do criminals. While a handful of banks did take the initiative to educate their customers on the looming threats, the message is far from reaching saturation in the South African market,” Columinate said.<\/p>\n
“The onus is on the banks to create banking platforms that are as secure as they are perceived to be, and to continually remind customers about new and potential threats \u2013 if they can get the security right, we\u2019d have the tools to create a truly end-to-end digital banking solution, with less need to visit a branch ever again.”<\/p>\n