Digital Wallet Safety

Safety may be one of the biggest concerns around the use of digital wallets. Who has access to your information? What if you lose your phone? Luckily, digital wallets utilize some of the latest security features to help keep your information safe and prevent both identity theft and credit card fraud.

• When you add your personal information into a digital wallet, that data is then converted into a unique code via encryption that can only be accessed by authorized entities. Digital wallets go a step further by also adding in tokenization, which takes that sensitive encrypted data and replaces it with a non-sensitive digital equivalent known as a token. These unique tokens are randomly generated every time a user makes a payment. Only the merchant’s payment gateway can match this token to accept the payment. Ultimately, your information is useless and unreadable to fraudsters when encryption and tokenization are used together.

• You can combine the safety features of the wallet plus your phone or other devices. This includes two-factor authentication, Face ID, fingerprint ID, PINs and screen locks.

What if your device is lost or stolen? Thankfully, there are apps available that allow you to remotely lock or erase your device’s data. Using these apps and setting up additional security, like fingerprint ID and password protection, can help make your device more secure.

As with other forms of payment, digital wallets could be susceptible to hackers and scams. It’s important to practice good password hygiene, monitor your accounts, avoid making transactions on unsecured Wi-Fi networks and enable all the safety options mentioned above.

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