Guides on Contactless Cards And Mobile Banking

MEDIA RELEASE



Banking Ombudsman Issues Quick Guides on Contactless Cards And Mobile Banking

With the growing use of contactless cards and mobile phones, the Banking Ombudsman is receiving enquiries about the security of these forms of banking.

Banking Ombudsman Deborah Battell today issued new guides on using contactless cards and mobile banking to help customers avoid problems.

“Contactless cards will gradually become the norm and smartphone use is increasing rapidly,” Ms Battell says.

“It is a sad fact that customers need to be constantly wary of fraud, and any method of banking has its risks. Customers can, however, minimise these by taking precautions.

Provided these precautions are taken, and customers follow their bank’s terms and conditions of use, banking service providers will reimburse customers for unauthorised access.”

The Banking Ombudsman’s top tips are:

• Keep your cards and phone safe!
• Monitor your accounts frequently and tell your bank immediately if you lose your phone or card so that it can cancel access to your accounts.
• Auto-lock your phone and secure both your phone and account with strong passwords.
• Only use an app that is provided by your banking service provider and that is downloaded from one of the locations the bank tells you they will publish apps to (usually Apple App Store and Google Play).
• Keep your phone and app updated. Updates may be security-related.
• Delete any text messages from your banking service provider once you've read them.
• Log off completely from mobile banking when you've finished.
• Avoid public wi-fi hotspots that are unsecured and that don't require a password.


ATTACHMENTS

The Quick Guides are attached and available in the publications section of the Banking Ombudsman’s website: http://www.bankomb.org.nz/Publications/Quick-guides

See also the Quick Guide on Looking after your credit and debit cards and PINs.

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