Smart phones are completely changing the way in which we manage our money. The super-fund-owned bank ME claims that mobile banking is not just convenient but safe too.
Not surprisingly, Australia has one of the highest rates of smart phone ownership in the world, with almost 37% of Australians owning one.
Figures suggest that Australians are 65% more likely than the British and 14% more likely than Americans to use a smart phone for mobile banking transactions.
Mobile banking is so convenient, because transactions can be made outside business hours, mobile banking is paper free and you can track your savings, purchases and bill payments wherever you are because your bank account is at your fingertips.
But many people won’t use mobile devices for banking transactions because of safety concerns and worries that their money and personal details will not stay private.
The Australian Federal Police have collaborated with the Australian Bankers Association and developed a check list to help you keep your online banking safe and secure:
- Lock your phone with a password when not in use.
- Make your mobile banking PIN difficult to guess. Memorise it instead of writing it down.
- Don’t record private banking details on your smart phone or email those details to yourself.
- Only use password protected internet connections. Free Wi-Fi is not a secure environment for online banking.
If you lose your phone, call your bank straight away to disable your banking app.
By Rosi Broom