More than 80 percent of u.s. consumers worry about identity theft. Roughly one in four report having been a victim of mobile or online fraud. But 60 percent of people plan to use their mobile devices morenot lessto check their account balances, pay bills or conduct key transactions in the future.
The statistics, from a joint study by payments technology company Jumio and Harris Interactive, suggest that convenience trumps security concerns when it comes to consumer use of mobile banking applications. The survey was conducted over several days in March and sampled a nationwide group of 2,130 adults, including 1,261 who are smartphone or tablet users.
"Two in every three Americans uses smartphones or tablets, according to our research, and are increasingly using them to conduct important daily activitiesfrom online banking to paying bills on the go," says Daniel Mattes, the founder and CEO of Jumio.
But mobile device fraud is climbing along with consumer adoption rates. According to CyberSource, a division of Visa, online fraud cost merchants an estimated $3.5 billion in revenue last year, up about 3 percent from 2011.
"Users may be willing to accept risk now in favor of convenience, but this tolerance will weaken as fraud continues to grow," Mattes says. He argues that the industry "needs to get on board to protect our customers as much as the customers themselves need to take greater precautions."
