Consumers are growing weary of using passwords to gain access to online resources. Consumers flooded online channels over the past year, but they demand a better user experience than what they are currently getting. Passwordless authentication is one of the important asks that consumers have. Mobile multifactor authentication (MFA) will provide consumers with the comfort they seek, while also solving the question of online security.
The COVID-19 pandemic has caused a rush to go online, many people using services like online banking or online food and grocery ordering for the first time. Especially the over-40s were digital newbies. Businesses made an extra effort to meet the growing need for digital channels. According to a new report by fraud detection specialist Experian, nine out of ten businesses said they have a digital customer journey strategy and nearly half of those actually implemented that strategy during the pandemic. But the report also reveals a disconnect. While businesses think they are delivering on customer experience, consumers say they don’t feel their needs are recognized.
Security is crucial to the online experience
Mobile security is one of the areas where this disconnect surfaces. Experian found that businesses are sustaining pre-pandemic levels of investment in mobile security and fraud management. Over half of consumers (55%) say that security is the most important aspect of their online experience. It is clear that businesses will need to step up their investment in this area. The survey also reveals how service providers need to direct their security investments, namely towards frictionless authentication. Three quarters of consumers ranked security based on physical biometrics as their preferred method of authenticating. The report states that consumer thinking is moving away from the realm of the password. Consumers used to think that memorizing passwords or receiving one-time passwords (OTP) constituted robust security. Now they are realizing these methods are brittle, as passwords can be stolen or forgotten and OPTs can be intercepted. Just think of the recent commotion about the hack and data leak that happened at allekabels.nl. Consumers are very concerned about identity theft and about protecting credit cards and bank account details.
Multi-factor authentication for mobile
At TrustBuilder, we recognize the calls for a frictionless customer experience. That’s why we offer TrustBuilder Mobile Authenticator, catering to the mobile user who wants to get rid of passwords when accessing mobile or web applications. TrustBuilder Mobile Authenticator makes it easy to connect a device to an application, as this video shows. Once a user has onboarded as a customer, all they’ll need is a pin or a fingerprint to gain access to an application. Push notifications are sent from an application only to the device that is registered to that application. The push notifications use out-of-band communication, limiting the risk of Man-in-the-Middle or Man-in-the-Browser attacks. These features of TrustBuilder Mobile Authenticator set us apart from less secure and less user-friendly techniques such as username/password combinations, OTP SMSs and Oath Authenticators.
Companies are stepping up their efforts to improve their digital products and services while also enhancing the experience of their customers. As consumers are becoming more aware of security risks and attach a greater importance to the protection of their data, organizations also need to improve their security stance. TrustBuilder Mobile Authenticator is the perfect solution to these challenges.
