Kiwis more comfortable with new digital payment security

NEWS RELEASE

Kiwis more comfortable with security of new digital payment methods

AUCKLAND, November 18, 2016. Since the emergence of payment innovations like contactless, mobile wallets and online checkouts, Kiwis have become significantly more comfortable with the security of these new ways to pay, a recent Visa survey¹ discussing the perceptions of payment technologies in relation to fraud prevention reveals.

Nearly three quarters (72 per cent) of New Zealanders surveyed say they trust that payments made via digital and mobile methods to be secure, compared to 51 per cent when these ways to pay first emerged.

Visa’s Chief Risk Officer, Australia, NZ, and South Pacific, Sam Gianniotis, says a certain amount of caution can be expected when any new technology is introduced, but particularly so when it comes to protecting money.

“It’s often the case that experiencing is believing, and as new payment technologies like Visa payWave, mobile wallets and Visa Checkout become the norm, the perceived risk lessens over time. Our research shows us that as the proliferation of devices across all aspects of our lives increases, so too does the trust in the security enabling the payment experience.”

At the start of New Zealand’s inaugural International Fraud Film Festival, of which Visa is a sponsor, the survey found Kiwis were ready to embrace innovation such as biometric scanning as respondents considered fingerprint scanning to be the safest way to prevent card details being stolen or fraudulently used.

More than two thirds (68 per cent) of respondents said using fingerprint scanning to make transactions posed less risk of someone accessing their account and using it fraudulently.

“Customer experience is more important than ever and innovation isn’t just for innovation’s sake. We know that 98 per cent of Kiwis also expect payment technology to work quickly and effectively in most situations2.

To succeed we must offer relevant, secure customer experiences that add convenience, subtract a pain point, or add value in a new way. Payment innovations such as biometrics like fingerprint or retinal scanning add real convenience for consumers wanting fast ways to authorise payments securely, and this survey clearly shows the appetite for this technology in New Zealand,” he said.

Furthermore, those surveyed perceive the following list of security measures good ways to prevent fraud:

• Scanning fingerprint to confirm or validate payment

• Not leaving wallets or handbags unattended

• Using a variety of pins or passwords for accounts

• Updating anti-virus software on computers or smartphones

• Always using a passcode to access smartphones

• Only carrying cards when you know you’re going to purchase something.

“Visa operates the largest retail payments network in the world and we’ve been a leader in driving security across the payments ecosystem for the past 60 years. We’re guided by the principle of responsible innovation and of optimising risk across our payments network. The environment is always evolving, because fraud moves to the weakest points in the ecosystem,” says Mr Gianniotis.

The inaugural New Zealand International Fraud Film Festival is taking place at Auckland’s Q Theatre on Friday 18th and Saturday 19th November, coinciding with International Fraud Awareness Week. The festival will deliver two full days of films and documentaries followed by live discussions about fraud and its prevention.

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About Visa Inc.

Visa Inc. (NYSE: V) is a global payments technology company that connects consumers, businesses, financial institutions, and governments in more than 200 countries and territories to fast, secure and reliable electronic payments. We operate one of the world’s most advanced processing networks — VisaNet — that is capable of handling more than 65,000 transaction messages a second, with fraud protection for consumers and assured payment for merchants. Visa is not a bank and does not issue cards, extend credit or set rates and fees for consumers. Visa’s innovations, however, enable its financial institution customers to offer consumers more choices: pay now with debit, pay ahead with prepaid or pay later with credit products.

¹ The October 2016 Monthly Perceptive Omnibus surveys a minimum of 1,000 New Zealanders online using a nationwide sampling framework, the results are then weighted to Statistics New Zealand census gender, age and location data.

2 Visa/YouGov, September, 2016

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