‘Convenience is at odds with security': Why it's going to be slower – and safer – to access your money
Australians are set for slower but more secure online banking as the country's biggest banks roll out multifactor authentication to prevent customers falling victim to scams and fraud.
It's estimated Australian banks spend hundreds of millions of dollars on cybersecurity, employing everything from facial or voice recognition to fingerprints, SMS codes and authenticator apps to verify users' identity.
But payments expert Mike Ebstein said the banks had been 'slow out of the blocks on digital security'.
'Australia is way behind in all this stuff,' banking and payments consultant Grant Halverson agreed.
Halverson said two-factor authentication, which has been used overseas for between five and 10 years, was like having a fire extinguisher at home. 'Does it stop the fire? No. Does it put it out? Possibly,' he said.
In the coming months, Australia's biggest bank, Commonwealth, will force customers using a computer and who have the bank's app to confirm their identity every time via the app. This means thieves would need more than a username and password to access an account. However, customers without the app will not have two-factor authentication.
Westpac, National Australia Bank and ANZ also require multifactor authentication, although not for every logon. According to the Australian Community Attitudes to Privacy Survey 2023, some 43 per cent of people use multifactor authentication when it's available.
The Australian Banking Association said the country's banks were world leaders in security.
It said multifactor authentication was 'just one of the many tools used to verify identity and safety accounts', alongside shared scam intelligence, limits on high-risk payment channels, payment delays and security questions.
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