You’ll no longer have to carry around your banking dongle while making transactions on-the-go. Instead, banks in Singapore are opting for simpler and more convenient digital tokens. These tokens have been successfully trialed by 200,000 DBS customers and 7000 UOB customers since December.
Once in effect, DBS customers can log into their digibank app to carry out a one-time setup of the digital token using their physical dongle for authentication. The one-time passwords (OTPs) will be verified in the background, and will no longer be required for low-risk transactions like viewing one’s transaction history.
While security is an obvious concern, according to DBS, enhanced encryption and dynamic in-built security are some of the measures that will offer layered protection against malware targeting the mobile apps. It also advises users who lose their phones to download the digibank app—which is secured and accessible only with a user ID, PIN or fingerprint—on a new mobile device, and remove access to the app from the lost device.
Physical dongles from DBS will stop being issued mid 2018 while UOB plans to start using digital security tokens on its Internet banking platform by the end of this year. OCBC on the other hand, is exploring replacing physical tokens with biometrics for customer authentication, as they’re a solution with the “right balance of security and convenience”.
While these changes certainly sound more convenient and user-friendly, the jury’s still out on how secure they’ll actually be. After all, we’re talking about your bank account here.
This story originally appeared on Stuff Singapore, bringing you what’s next in the world of tech and gadgets, with a twist.
