UK: online consumers doubt mobile payment security - report

According to a survey conducted by Tripwire, only 1% of respondents believe using a third party mobile payment provider such as Apple Pay or Google Wallet is a safe way to pay for in-store purchases. Findings indicate that 62% of respondents believe that the ‘lock icon’ is a sign that their online transactions are kept secure. Less than half (47%) of U.S. consumers will check the URL to see if the page is using SSL, while only 15% of U.K. consumers check URLs.

Also, over a quarter (26%) of U.S. consumers believe that using a wired internet connection instead of wireless will make online payments more secure while over 50% (53%) of U.K. consumers believe paying by credit card is the safest way to pay online versus 37% of U.S. consumers.

According to Adobe’s 2014 Digital Index, online shopping data for Cyber Monday indicates that shoppers have already spent an estimated USD 2.65 billion online, a 16% increase from 2013. In addition, a report by researchers at Stony Brook University discovered that websites carrying security seals are frequently more vulnerable to breaches.

The report evaluated online cybersecurity awareness of 2,011 consumers from the US and UK.