With the welcome transition from traditional banking methods to new-age digital banking comes the heavy responsibility of protecting customers from electronic banking fraud (e-fraud). E-Fraud reports in Nigeria continue to spike at an alarming rate, almost at the same rate with mobile phone usage, internet penetration and digital banking.
The industry fraud report for Q3 2020 from the Nigeria Inter-Bank Settlement System (NIBSS) shows that Nigerian financial institutions lost about ₦5.2 billion to fraud between January and September 2020 alone. The bulk of this loss occurred between July and September when companies lost up to ₦3.36 billion. Fraud attempts via mobile channels increased by 330%, while web and POS fraud increased by 173% and 215% YoY, respectively.
This alarming report has confirmed the need for financial services institutions to double down on their security measures and protect their customers at all costs especially as they share sensitive information with them. With their recent ISO 27001 certification on Information Security, Fidelity Bank Plc is leading the industry with its commitment to provide quality and secured services to Nigerians. This certification has enabled the leading financial institution to prevent information security lapses and mitigate associated risks.
Additionally, the Bank also obtained the Payment Card Industry Data Security Standard (PCIDSS) certification to protect cardholders’ data and privacy, in line with International Standards.
As a customer-centred financial institution, the bank is ensuring the safety of Nigerians who bank with them using a host of initiatives including:
Online Vulnerability Assessment
The Bank’s Internet Banking website is regularly scanned for vulnerabilities by one of the best online Information Security providers. This way, they stay ahead of the curve by proactively securing infrastructure from emerging online threats and attacks.
SSL encryption
High-level, industry-standard Secure Sockets Layer (SSL) technology is used within Internet Banking sessions to encrypt customers’ personal information before it leaves their computer/mobile devices so that no one else can read it.
2nd Factor Authentication
Fidelity Bank adopts token technology, which is an additional level of authentication to help reduce online identity theft, phishing expeditions, and other online frauds. This is important as access to a customer’s account will not be possible in the event of a compromise of the customer’s username and password.
These, amongst several others, are security measures taken by the Bank to ensure the safety of their customers, restating their resolve to be number one in every market they serve by providing quality and secured services.