Beware! Mobile banking apps and wallets such as Paytm, MobiKwik may not be secure

New Delhi: Even as the government is promoting cashless economy and digital payments and transactions, it appears that most of the banking and mobile payment apps in India may not be fully secured.

According to report, chipset maker Qualcomm has warned that wallets and mobile banking applications in India are not using hardware level security which can make online transactions more secure.

“You will be surprised because most of the banking or wallet apps around the world don’t use hardware security. They actually run completely in Android mode and users password can be stolen. Users use fingerprint which might be captured … in India that is the case for most of all digital wallets and mobile banking apps,” Qualcomm Senior Director Product Management Sy Choudhury was reported as saying.

Without naming any banking apps or mobile wallets in particular, Choudhury added that the most popular digital payment apps in India were not using hardware security level.

“Reason we are saying that none of them is using it because we work with OEMs (original equipment makers),” Choudhury supported his statement.

Some of the most popular mobile and digital payment apps in India include Paytm, MobiKwik and various other banking apps.

“Everyone is getting connected, everyone is getting authenticated by device. How do you know that your device is getting ready for demonetisation? When you download a mobile banking app you don’t know if it is using hardware security or not,” Choudhury further said.

Since the suddent demonetisation move taken by the Modi government on November 8, the centre has been encouraging consumers to go cashless and use digital payments and transactions.

This report comes as blow to digital payment system, which the government has been promoting, added to the recent report that Goa police arrested three for allegedly installing card-reading devices in POS machines.