Authentication tool for payments pushed

MANILA  -Creating verified digital entities is crucial in growing the adoption of financial technology services, which can lead to greater volume of cashless transactions, according to digital payment technology enabler Visa.

Marie Austenaa, head of digital identity at Visa, said in a recent virtual event that digital identity is a tool that allows users to provide authentication when completing online payments.

“In my perspective, digital identity is really the cornerstone of secure and convenient digital services,” she said at the Accenture Technology Vision 2023.

“It is really the tool you have to prove who you are,” she added.

Further use of digital platforms for payments could also encourage merchants to adopt such option for convenience, she added.

Austenaa projected the further adoption of cashless payment schemes given the rise of e-wallets, which have gained traction especially during the pandemic.

“E-wallets are here to stay because of the increased security. It is really convenient. Merchants are having good successes as well,” she said.

In relation to this, however, TransUnion’s 2023 State of Omnichannel Fraud Report revealed that identity theft was among the top online fraud concerns of Filipinos last year.

An identity theft attack can be launched by phishing, which is a fraudulent activity where hackers trick users into giving out their personal information, including bank accounts, through suspicious links embedded on emails, social media posts and even QR (quick response) codes.

Phishing and text scams, both at 46 percent, were the most commonly reported fraudulent schemes in the past year.

In 2022, 8.7 percent of the digital transactions in the country were suspected to be fraudulent, according to TransUnion.

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