Whether you’re in a café, a shopping centre or an online store, paying with your mobile phone is easy and convenient. But how safe is it? With a few precautions, you can enjoy the benefits of mobile payments without any worries.
“Do you have Twint?” – is a question we hear every day in Switzerland. The Swiss payment culture has changed dramatically thanks to mobile payment methods, leaving cash and credit cards languishing in wallets. The apps are linked directly to your personal bank account or credit card. It’s easy to pay online and via your phone.
This is how secure payment apps are
Mobile payment methods such as Apple Pay or TWINT are considered very secure. Not only do modern smartphones protect your bank and card data with fingerprint sensors or facial recognition, but the payment apps use encrypted data and require additional authentication before your transaction is completed. The apps do not store your account or credit card details on your phone, but in a secure cloud. They also encrypt payment information. They convert the data into a form that cannot be read without a special key. This means that the information is protected even in the event of a potential data leak.
With these precautionary measures, there is less risk of someone emptying your account if your mobile phone is stolen. Nevertheless, if this happens, you should call your bank to block your TWINT account and block your SIM. If you use Apple Pay, it is best to deactivate the Pay function via another device in your Apple ID.
Prevention is better than cure
Although the security standards for payment and e-banking apps are high, you should be vigilant:
- Make sure that the operating system and apps are always up to date.
- Only ever use a secure internet connection. Never use public Wi-Fi for any kind of payment processing – regardless of the device or app.
- Be sceptical if your device asks for your PIN or password at a strange moment and without a suitable context.
- Regularly check your payment history or account statement so that you can quickly identify any unwanted payments.
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