From a Computer World article:
The Commonwealth Bank (CBA) is to offer banking via Facebook by the end of this year, and has further announced that its Kaching mobile payment application is now available for Android-based mobile devices.
Speaking in Sydney, David Lindberg, executive general manager of card payments and retail strategy, said the bank had taken into consideration the lack of privacy and security of Facebook in its design of its Facebook banking application as it was further developed, which is currently in beta testing.
“We know that there are customers who just do not want their financial information sitting on Facebook,” he said. “For those customers, of course, there is no reason to use [the application].
“At the same time, we know that there is a segment of customers who are very comfortable with using Facebook for a number of private things, one of which is for financial services. So, in terms of the privacy, our view of privacy is that it is something which is completely up to the consumer.
Lindberg cited the bank’s NetCode SMS two-factor authentication system as a means by which it would help secure Facebook payments and would be used by the party making the payment on Facebook in much the same was a customer of the bank’s Netbank online banking portal would when making a third-party payment.
Lindberg acknowledged that a potential security risk existed on the receiving side of the Facebook payment application, such as scams which request money from friends and family to help someone traveling overseas.
As customers become more aware and comfortable with using social media in various aspects of their lives (including banking and financial services), new opportunities – and challenges – await.
Financial institutions must keenly understand their customers, including their comfort with the intersection of social media and mobility for their banking needs. These institutions must also probe into customer comfort levels using various mobile banking modes (such as SMS, mobile web, and downloadable apps), and levels of authentication (including single-factor, two-factor, and multi-factor authentication).
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