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The Commonwealth Bank has announced three security features for digital wallets, first-time payments, and cardless transactions.
The Commonwealth Bank has introduced three new security features to fight scams and keep its customers safe.
The new “Review digital wallet” feature – the first of its kind in Australia – will let customers easily review payment details via the CommBank app and remove any digital wallets they’ve been linked to and don’t recognise.
“A digital wallet is an app on a phone, tablet or watch a customer adds their payment details to, so they can make purchases by tapping the device or checking out online, without the need to use a card,” James Roberts, CommBank’s head of group fraud, said in a statement.
“Criminals regularly ‘phish’ for personal information by texting customers a link that points to a dodgy website. This can lead to customers then sharing personal banking information, such as card details, bank authorisation codes and digital banking credentials. These details may enable scammers to add card details to a digital wallet on the scammer’s mobile device.”
Additionally, first-time payments will now be accompanied by “interactive and intelligent warnings” tailored to the transaction in order to protect customers from possible scammers.
“We’ve now added an extra layer of protection and are displaying tailored messaging and questions for certain first-time payments. The way customers respond to these questions helps us to prompt customers to reconsider before they proceed with the payment,” Roberts said.
“We know that from the pilot, these messages really helped customers to pause and think about payments, and in some instances, they took further steps to confirm they were not being scammed. This is exactly the behaviour we are looking to support, and we did see payments abandoned, which could have saved customers from scams.”
Finally, the QR Cardless feature is a new way to verify customers who want to make a withdrawal or a deposit and will replace Cardless Cash, Cardless Deposit and ATM Deposit Codes.
“This is about balancing the need to introduce intelligent friction, like transaction holds, limits and declines for higher-risk activities, while simultaneously ensuring a seamless, safe and secure digital payment experience for our customers. It’s a delicate balance, but a necessary one to help customers stay safe from scams,” Roberts said.
David Hollingworth has been writing about technology for over 20 years, and has worked for a range of print and online titles in his career. He is enjoying getting to grips with cyber security, especially when it lets him talk about Lego.