South African online payment providers are suffering consumers' lack of confidence in their security measures, with most consumers afraid of being hacked while making online transactions.
This is according to the Kaspersky Lab and B2B International Consumer Security Risks Survey 2014, which seeks to discover what worries Internet users the most in today's digital world and what actions they are taking, or plan to take, to protect themselves.
The study was conducted via an online survey from May to June 2014 with users from 23 countries. A total of 11 135 people, aged 16 and over, were surveyed, 409 of whom were from SA.
The survey revealed 64% of Internet users in SA felt vulnerable while shopping online or making online transactions, and 63% of users would utilise online payment systems more often if they felt they were protected from cyber fraud.
It discovered 45% of those who make payments online are sure that even the official mobile applications offered by financial companies require more protection before they're truly secure.
Also, many users are aware they need to implement their own security measures in addition to the protection offered by their payment providers.
Ross Hogan, global head of the fraud prevention division at Kaspersky Lab, believes many Internet users feel safer paying cash or using their bank card at a physical point of sale, rather than purchasing online via their computer or mobile device, and this reluctance hampers the development of the online payment.
According to Hogan, banks, online stores and e-payment systems need to reassure users they are safe from cyber fraudsters by offering extra security layers designed specifically to protect banking transactions and payments made online or from mobile devices, against financial fraud.
"The presence of these additional transaction-focused protections gives users immediate and visible reassurance that their money will be secure," says Hogan. He points out users would be eager to accept new tools from their financial organisations to help manage their shared responsibility of preventing online fraud.
Hackers don't usually focus on specific targets; they try to scoop up as many victims as possible, says Kaspersky Lab. This is why it's very risky to use the Internet without a security solution, concludes Hogan.
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