More than half of all Swiss citizens handle their financial transactions via a mobile device. But is it sound practice to use mobile banking? It is, as long as you observe a few basic rules.
A current study by the Lucerne University of Applied Sciences and Arts has shown: Bank customers frequently and readily avail themselves of the advantages offered by a mobile banking solution. Still they don’t quite trust the technology involved fully. Classic e-banking from a PC at home or at the office is still considered more comfortable and above all, more secure.
From a technical point of view, this perception is not really justified. Although over the past few years, there has been a marked increase of attacks on mobile devices, the same goes for stationary computers, too.
As far as security is concerned, a mobile banking app actually offers one decisive advantage: Unlike with classic e-banking using a browser, customers receive a ready-made bit of software which is specifically adapted to electronic banking by their financial institution and is thus effectively secured. Users therefore no longer have to manually enter the bank address and check that a connection is secure - a banking app does that for them, automatically in the background, thus minimising the risk of any typing errors or phishing.
Just like with classic e-banking, the prerequisite for using mobile banking securely is that you comply with some basic principles. Device protection thus plays a decisive role here, the same as the need to observe certain rules of conduct. You can find out more in our article on How to use a mobile banking app in a secure manner.
