Nearly a Third of Consumers Want More Than Biometric Authentication When Accessing Bank Accounts

When it comes to authentication, consumers increasingly trust and prefer the biometrics afforded by smartphones to protect their identities.

But although they love this seamlessness, consumers also want to see security measures at work.

“Consumer Authentication Preferences for Online Banking and Transactions,” a PYMNTS and Entersekt collaboration based on surveys of more than 2,500 U.S. consumers, explored these preferences.

Overall, the study noted that “smartphones were the go-to choice for online financial transactions in the past month [as] 71% of consumers used them more frequently than other devices when they digitally sent or received money from family and friends. This trend extends to the online purchase of goods and services as well, with 63% of consumers using smartphones more frequently than other devices for these transactions.”

Additionally, the survey found that 61% of consumers used their smartphones to access their bank accounts and 52% used them to pay bills and make rent and loan payments.

Thirty-eight percent of consumers would like their banks to require more visible security measures when a new device is used to access their bank accounts, and 37% said the same for online transactions involving large sums of money. Additionally, 35% of consumers want more visible security measures when completing their first online transaction with a new retailer and when updating their personal information in their bank account.

“Consumers are less concerned about security measures for routine online financial activities than they are about infrequent ones, but even so, 30% prefer additional visible security measures when accessing their bank accounts from familiar devices, and 29% want the same when sending or receiving money,” the study found. “Similarly, 27% of consumers want additional visible security measures when purchasing goods and services online, and 26% prefer additional visible measures when making bill, rent or loan payments.”