Xiaomi – Consumers Want More Authentication Options

In the latest edition of the Mobile Banking App Playbook series, a PYMNTS and Entersekt collaboration based on a census-balanced survey of over 2,580 consumers, we examine customization and control as a way of meeting consumers’ digital demands, especially around what they want — but aren’t necessarily getting — in mobile bank app feature sets.

See more: Mobile Banking App Playbook

Getting to the heart of the matter, the Playbook notes that “trust is a crucial part of delivering the digital banking capabilities consumers have come to expect, but many consumers want more. They also desire more control over their digital banking security — the authorization process, in particular — as 64 percent of all consumers consider it ‘very’ or ‘extremely’ important to be able to set additional security requirements for specific transactions.

Moreover, 68 percent desire authenticating specific transactions “because it provides additional security, 62 percent think it protects them from fraud and nearly as many say it makes them feel more secure.” A high percentage equate control over authentication with reduced risk of experiencing mobile app fraud, with 56 percent saying that fraud risks would be lower if they had greater control.

Specific transaction types are ranked differently by respondents. The Playbook finds that 90 percent of consumers want extra authentication “when sending money to friends or relatives, and 89 percent would like them when opening new accounts at banks at which they already have accounts.”

Trust plays its central role, with the Playbook noting that “consumers’ levels of interest in being able to control which transactions require authentication varies depending on the amount of trust they have in their banks. The more consumers trust their banks, the more control they want over most of their transactions. All consumers who do not trust their banks at all say they would want added authentication to initiate merchant or contractor payments, for example. Eighty-eight percent of consumers who ‘very much’ trust their banks say the same. “

Consumers’ bank app wish list is a searchlight glimpse into how the banking public sees both banks and the mobile apps they’re providing at present. It suggests room for improvement.

Noting that “nearly one-third of consumers would use their mobile banking apps more if their banks covered the liability for potential fraud,” the Playbook adds that 26 percent said they would use bank apps more if they simply offered more authentication choices.

“Interest in a personalized user experience is especially high among credit union members, who would use their apps more if they offered more functionalities,” per the Playbook, which adds that 24 percent of consumers “would like to be able to retrieve their credit scores, and 58 percent of credit union users would like their banking apps to send them real-time account activity notifications. Baby boomers and seniors are the most interested demographic: 68 percent exhibit interest in real-time notifications compared to only 45 percent of Gen Z consumers.”

See also: The Mobile Banking App Playbook