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A New Approach to Secure Mobile Banking Apps

By Mark Noctor, VP EMEA at Arxan Technologies

By the end of 2018, nearly all financial institutions will offer mobile banking services. According to a
26
survey of 706 financial institutions in seven U.S. Federal Reserve districts , top business reasons for
embracing mobile include retaining existing customers, meeting competitive and cost pressures,
attracting new customers, and projecting market leadership in technology. What this survey also
demonstrates is that the number one barrier is “security concerns”.

The Fear of Mobile Banking Apps

With mobile banking apps holding personal data such as payment card accounts, addresses and other
various personal details. It’s not a surprise that usage rates are only at 20% or less across 56% of
responding institutions with just 8% reporting usage rates over 50%. However, consumers have every
right to fear for their personal data due to insufficient security in mobile banking with potential exploits in
the app code being easy to expose through reverse engineering. Furthermore, not only does a mobile
banking breach affect personal data and damage trust, it can also cause significant brand damage
resulting in lost revenue, increased cost to address the breach, and other liabilities.

26 Federal Reserve Bank of Boston, Mobile Banking and Payment Practices of U.S. Financial Institutions, Dec. 2017.

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