US Online Adults Concerned about Internet Banking Security, See Potential in Security Enhancement Options

Customers continue to do more and more of their banking over the Internet. There is currently an estimated 58% of US adults with Internet access who conduct personal banking over the Internet, according to a December 2006-January 2007 Prophis eResearch representative survey of 990 US online adults. Fully 48% of this group do more of their banking over the Internet now than 12 months previously. More than twice as many US adults banking over the Internet (27%) are more concerned than 12 months ago about Internet security issues than are less concerned (12%). In addition, 58% of those currently conducting personal banking believe that it is “extremely necessary” for their financial institution to “improve Internet banking security.”

Security Questions, Images, and Fingerprint Recognition Enhancements Best Known

In January 2007, Prophis eResearch completed a comprehensive evaluation of 15 specific Internet banking security enhancement options (see concept descriptions below). The vast majority of online banking customers were already aware of the Security Questions security enhancement concept (i.e. 93% indicating that they were aware of it). Just over half (54%) of those asked were aware of the Images concept and Fingerprint Recognition concept (52%). Awareness of the remaining tested concepts were somewhat to considerably less known (see Figure below). The full report, released on January 22, 2007 (2007 US Internet Banking Security Concept Evaluation Report, 49 pages, 15 tables, 23 figures, US$2495) details current availability and usage of each concept at the respondent's financial institution.

Fingerprint Recognition Believed to Provide the Best Enhanced Security

Perceptions vary considerably when it comes to the extent to which security enhancements outlined to customers are believed to provide additional security. The two biometric measures tested were found at opposite ends of the scale, with Fingerprint Recognition at the top of the list (i.e. 57% saying it provided added security) and Keystroke Recognition at the bottom (11%). Of the remainder of the concepts, Security Questions (36%) and Device Authentication (33%) were ranked two and three respectively in terms of the additional security provision perception. The full report also details perceptions about each enhancement's convenience, ease of implementation, desired availability, likely usage if available, and implementation advice.

Quotes

The following are quotes from Stuart W. Hemerling, Senior Research Consultant with Prophis Research and Consulting, on the findings:
“Banking customers are expecting better security when it comes to doing banking over the Internet. They do, in fact, show a receptiveness to doing their part to make some of the security enhancement concepts we asked them about work. On the other hand, they were quite resistant to some of the concepts presented to them that they thought were too complicated, too ineffective, or that could cost them in terms of paying an additional fee or charge”

“People tend to have an intuitive feeling that a security concept based on fingerprint recognition is going to be highly effective. What was somewhat surprising to us was the relatively high proportion of people who told us that they thought this enhancement would or could be relatively easy to implement, despite the fact that this would entail them to attach a device to their computer.”