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Confidence in the security of new payments systems is not high among businesses executives, finds the “Data Security in the Evolving Payments Ecosystem” report released Monday by the Ponemon Institute LLC.
In the report, commissioned by Experian, 36% of respondents said they are not confident about the security of a wide range of new payment technologies, including EMV, digital wallets, mobile payments in stores and in apps, near-field communication (NFC), virtual currencies, or two-factor authentication services.
Another 14% said they were unsure about their confidence.
These new or emerging payment technologies also carry risk. When asked to rank which technologies most likely would increase the risk of a data breach, virtual currencies, at 65%, came out on top. The next riskiest is mobile payments in stores at 59%; digital wallets, 58%; mobile payments on devices and in apps, 57%; NFC, 54%; two-factor authentication, 33%; and EMV chip cards, 23%.
The survey also found 34% of businesses already view online purchases as posing the greatest risk to the integrity of the data-protection systems. Projections are that online fraud will increase as EMV chip cards and point-of-sale terminals become more widely used this fall.
In-store sales at the point of sale followed at 25%; mobile payments, 24%; kiosk, 16% and checking via the automated clearing house, 1%.
“The payments industry is undergoing a revolution led by emerging technologies including mobile payments and wallet technologies, virtual currencies, and the deployment of chip and PIN technology,” the Ponemon Institute states in its report. “The potential benefit of these new technologies is significant, but it remains to be seen if security risks will prove to be a major barrier to adoption.”
The survey included responses from 748 business executives in information technology, risk management, product development, and others involved in payments systems. It did not disclose which industries they work in.
