According to this report from The Telegraph, only 17% of Britons would be comfortable using NFC/RFID payment technology, linked to swiping their NFC-enabled handset over a retailer's payment system.
The report is claiming that 44% of those surveyed (sample size of 1000) were concerned about security risks, although whether the commentary about "phone hacking" (a popular term, rather than one which is accurate, to my mind) being a factor in people reaching this conclusion is accurate or not, or just the guesswork of the interviewee is not clear. (They relate to entirely different technologies and services, and so fear of having voicemail hacked should not equate to fear of having an NFC transaction intercepted or spoofed, but I'm happy to accept that my view may not be representative!)
Even more interesting is the result that 11% of those questioned are uncomfortable purchasing via PC, whilst 37% would not use a mobile phone, with 24% claiming that it feels less secure.
I've used phone-integrated NFC technology for payments for a while now, and have found it very handy indeed - I'd be very happy to move towards an NFC-based system linked to my phone, since it's hugely convenient!
Posted on behalf of Heather:
ReplyDeleteThe mobile app means a single phone can store a multitude of cards and be sent offers, as well as keep track of a user’s spending' Personally, I worry less about the supposed hacking and/or losing/stealing of the phone that may occur but more so about the customer profiling that inevitably will be compiled as they log and track my spending habits.
Convenience and targeted coupons won't change my behaviour. Although to the security point, 'while 11 per cent of people would hesitate to make a purchase via PC, the figure more than trebled to 37 per cent when it came to the proportion of people who would hesitate to buy via a mobile phone', I am reminded of the RFID technology of a few years back, where in the US the RFID chip in the Exxon Mobil key fob was cracked by a group of students: http://www.pcworld.com/article/119661/does_your_car_key_pose_a_security_risk.html
It's no wonder consumers are wary of new techonology until it has been proven.
It's no wonder consumers are wary of new techonology until it has been proven.
ReplyDeleteThis strikes true indeed - although it's interesting that you read this as meaning via NFC/RFID, rather than simply using a mobile browser or an app on the phone, which is how I had read this particular section. To me, it makes no difference whether I purchase a book from Amazon via the browser or app on my phone, or via a browser on a computer (since, after all,a phone is a computer!).
more so about the customer profiling that inevitably will be compiled as they log and track my spending habits.
This would, I suppose, depend on the architecture. If the NFC enablement is simply that Barclays, or your bank of choice, installs a small application to a secure area of the phone / SIM, and, using this in conjunction with the chip in the device, replaces your Barclaycard, then I wonder if there is any real change, since Barclays clearly already has access to your banking information.
If the solution were operated by a third party - such as PayPal - then there would be this risk, but that's irrespective of the NFC capability, since PayPay obviously has access to the data relating to transactions you pay for via PayPal without NFC.
I can see an issue related to increased volumes of data, and thus greater visibility of your lifestle via PayPal, if you use the device to buy a newspaper, a snack and the like - things for which you are unlikely to use online purchasing, but I'm not sure if this is really any different to the information which Barclaycard might already have. Of course, the difference between this and any form of cash-based transaction is considerable.
(You might also have seen that, back in 2006, the UK's RFID technology in passports was cracked too: here.)