On 14 September, new security/strong authentication standards for online payments came into effect as part of new European regulation (PSD2). The aim is to offer consumers greater protection when buying online. SMS is coming to an end and reinforced authentication (password, biometrics etc.) will now be common for online purchases. To find out more about what cybershoppers think about these changes, we reveal the results of a study by marketing research firm Enov of 1,005 online shoppers. Take a look at our study.
Online shopping: French people are confident but vigilant!
Overall, 92% of people questioned said that they are confident about buying online, even though 67% state that they are vigilant*. Note that the percentage who say that they are completely confident (25%) when buying online falls with the age of the people surveyed, from 32% for 18-34 year olds to just 16% for 55 and overs.
Almost half of cybershoppers (48%) across all ages and genders believe that online shopping is becoming more and more secure. This result should be put into context, as 45% of respondents say that this depends on the website and for 31% it also depends on the country. In fact, 54% of online shoppers feel more exposed to risk when buying online on foreign websites.
Cyberfraud: who's to blame?
Nearly 1 in 5 online shoppers has already been a victim of online fraud (18%).
Even though they are more confident about the security of their online transactions, this phenomenon affects young people more (22%).
70% of fraud victims believe that these incidents are perfectly managed by banks. However, 21% believe that management is good but the process is still cumbersome, and 9% feel that the fraud was not well managed by their bank. 1 in 2 shoppers (51%) believes that in the event of fraud, the responsibility falls solely to the website (51%), while 1 in 3 think that responsibility is shared between the website and the bank. Lastly, 16% think that the bank is solely responsible.
Authentication measures regarded as a security guarantee...
78% of consumers regard authentication stages when buying online as a guarantee of security and safety, while 18% consider it a real hindrance that can put them off making a purchase.
Only 45% of those surveyed state that they have heard about the end of SMS as an authentication solution (while this authentication method is the most widely used today, with 86% of uses**). Notoriety is even lower among 55 and overs: just 35% of them have heard about it.
... but which could be adapted to the amount spent!
Internet users are fairly mixed when it comes to securing online purchases. More than half (57%) believe that this should be proportional to the amount spent: the higher the amount of the transaction, the more secure the transaction should be (including 8% only on the condition that purchases are made regularly on the website).
Of the possible solutions to avoid additional security stages when buying online, cybershoppers will be able to indicate their preferred websites to their bank, which will then be exempt from two-factor authentication. While 31% of those surveyed are in favour of this option, 43% are reluctant; 26% of those questioned agree in principle, provided that this information is not used for commercial purposes.
Securing online purchases: consumers still poorly informed...
41% of people questioned have already heard about two-factor authentication that will now be needed to buy products online. The main sources of information cited are the media (16%), their bank (15%) and e-commerce sites (9%).
16% of online shoppers say that they know some of the criteria that this two-factor authentication could be based on: digital fingerprint (9%), combination of a password and biometric recognition (8%) and facial recognition (7%).
Digital fingerprint: the most popular solution due to its simplicity!
When shoppers were asked about what they think is the simplest solution of the 5 trialled in the study (facial recognition / heart rate / digital fingerprint / retinal scan / password + biometric recognition), digital fingerprint came first (46%), ahead of the combination of password + biometric recognition (31%) and facial recognition (15%).
Lastly, against the backdrop of this new regulation, a certain amount of data has become mandatory for authenticating transactions and improving fraud prevention. Nearly half of those surveyed (48%) are not comfortable with the idea that data about them and their purchases could be sent to the bank via an e-commerce site, while 33% do not consider it a disadvantage if it guarantees their security.
However, although these different biometric recognition solutions may be regarded as simple by some, nearly half of those surveyed (48%) are not comfortable with the idea of this type of information being used for their online transactions (while 33% do not consider it a disadvantage if it guarantees their security).
Take a look at the online study conducted by Enov for Dalenys from 3 to 18 August 2019 of 1,005 online shoppers aged 18 and over.
*76% of the panel shop at least once a month,
of whom 33% shop at least once a week
**Source: French Observatory for the Security of Payment Means, 2018 report
