Customers Want Better Online Banking Security

A poll conducted by RSA, the security division of EMC, suggests that online banking customers are becoming more concerned about security issues, and would like banks to take more steps to combat fraud.

RSA's Financial Institution Consumer Online Fraud Survey was conducted in December and polled 1,678 adults from the US, UK, Germany, France, Spain, Australia, Singapore and India.

The survey suggests levels of trust in online banking are falling - with 52% of respondents saying they were less likely to sign up for online banking as a result of the fraud threat, such as the recent online 'heist' which hit Swedish bank Nordea.

Also covered were....

Phishing - the good news is that more customers are now aware of the threat of phishing, though some still don't know what it is.

* 38% knew what phishing was
* 29% were aware of the term but didn't know what it means
* 33% were unaware of the term
* 82% were less likely to respond to bank emails as a result
* 52% were less likely to sign up for or use online banking due to the threat of phishing

Customer identification measures - more than half of customers would like tougher measures.

* 69% would prefer stronger identification than the standard username and password
* 91% would be willing to use a new, tougher method

Bank transaction monitoring/authentication - customers would like their banks to monitor transactions and look out for any suspicious activity.

* 82% believe their bank should monitor their account
* 74% would like their bank to use risk-based authentication

Though this is a relatively small sample, it's clear that the public is concerned about online fraud, and the best response is to make people aware of the threats, as well as taking tougher security measures to reassure customers.