Security is decisive

This article was published in the German magazine "Beitrag für IT Banken & Versicherungen" [Oct 5, 2009]
Read the original: Sicherheit entscheidet
Author: Eckardt Mohr, Area Sales Manager at Gemalto

Secure on line banking Today, 24 million people in Germany are already using online banking services. Apart from the factors, scope of services and price, the security of the private account data is increasingly becoming a decision criterion when choosing a bank. Many banks, including savings banks, still use their PIN/TAN lists or have mobile TAN in place. Because of increased level of attacks, this represents a risk for the banks, and users might start to feel unsecure with the solutions in place. New solutions, such as for example optical TAN generators, combine improved security and user convenience making technology change easier and - in connection with customer-targeted communications programs - also profitable for banks. Many institutions are already looking close to such solution.

The processing of bank business via the Internet has become a natural feature for many German banks. According to a recent survey from the European statistics authority, Eurostat, 24 million people in Germany, i.e. 38% of all citizens in the age from 16 to 74 years carry out their banking activities via the Internet. This signifies an increase of 11 million or 85% in the last five years. Throughout the EU however this is only sufficient for a midfield placing. In comparison to online banking rates in the region of 70%, such as in Finland or the Netherlands, there is still plenty of potential growth in the German market.

There are good reasons for the increasing acceptance of online banking: Internet usage is increasing irrespective of the generation gap. Fast broadband connections are increasingly reaching even countryside regions. Furthermore, in the Internet the bank is open round the clock, so that banking transactions can be carried out comfortably from the couch during the evening. Also, online banking is worth it financially because financial transactions in the Internet usually cost less than at the counter. With online services the costs for the credit institution are only one fifth of those of paperbound processes and they can pass on these advantages to the customer.