Malware attacks on mobile devices are rising.
Generally, many industries, including banks and ecommerce, must prepare for mobile risks. Mobile apps are risking themselves and their customers by not protecting their super app from online dangers.
To safeguard a super app from fraud and malware, multi-factor and password-less authentication is the most effective choice. Biometrics and cybersecurity are the two shields that can protect the companyโs applications from such attacks.
Understanding Biometrics
Nowadays, itโs common for anyone with a smartphone to log in using a face scan or fingerprint. Biometrics is a method of identity authentication and verification that uses biological characteristics, such as fingerprints, face, etc., to verify identities.
In recent years, biometrics has become more accurate and sophisticated. Advanced systems now use physical and behavioral signs, like retina and vein patterns, gestures, keystrokes, and signatures, to confirm a person’s identity.
For businesses, biometrics is a robust security tool. It is efficient, cost-effective, and secure.
What Is Biometrics?
Biometrics, in essence, refers to the measurable biological and behavioral characteristics that distinguish one individual from another. It includes:
Physical traits
- Fingerprints
- Iris patterns
- Facial recognition
- Voiceprints
Physiological or behavioral traits
- Gestures
- Keyboard or mouse movements
- Typing style
- Signatures
IT leaders believe technology will be the main way to authenticate financial transactions in the next 10 years. This is because security is a top priority.
Biometric Authenticationโs Impact on Super Apps
Super app follows the same philosophy of providing high-security levels. Thus, super apps come with biometric verifications, offering additional security and user authentication.
Biometric authentication is essential to minimize fraud, enhance security, and maintain customer satisfaction. For super apps, itโs super security.
Advantages of biometric authentication for super apps: They offer a more sturdy, secure, and efficient alternative to traditional methods like passwords. Moreover, unlike conventional methods, these are difficult to steal, forget, or lose.
Use Cases: They are used to unlock smartphones, make secure financial transactions, protect sensitive data, etc.
What Are Super Apps?
A super app is an all-inclusive mobile app that offers various services and functions. This enables users to complete different tasks within the app rather than needing numerous other apps.
Imagine having access to a single app that does everything from booking travel, ordering groceries, paying rent, and reviewing job documents.
Picture yourself planning your annual trip to Iceland while paying your friend your portion at that swanky Mediterranean restaurant.
This is the role of super apps.
Demand for Super Apps
Super apps like WeChat, Alipay, and Grab have changed the tech industry, dominating in Asian countries and expanding to the West. Big companies like Uber, PayPal, and Facebook are quickly developing all-in-one apps that provide multiple services. This is in response to the high demand from people who desire these types of apps.
Banking is another industry thatโs adopting super apps.Banks know they need to offer different services on mobile to keep current customers and get new ones.
All this is done to compete for the desired position of being one of the average userโs 9โ10 regular apps and appearing on their home screen.
Banks get to know customers who use their app more frequently (or at least their data) better. More data means a better understanding of when to provide what goods and services and how to improve the customer’s journey.
Why Do You Need Super App Security-Benefits and Examples
How Does a Super App Work?
Super apps are all-in-one applications that offer multiple services and functionalities. This allows users to perform various tasks through a single platform, also known as a single-window portal.
A super app is a centralized hub that provides users with the following:
- The convenience of accessing multiple services.
- Minimizes the need to switch between different apps.
- Seamless navigation through their services and features to fulfill an act.
- Easy and accessible communication and transactions through features like messaging, help desk, payments, shopping, transportation, etc.
- Creating a valuable user experience.
Examples of Super Apps
Here are some examples of super apps that you might use every day:
WeChat: WeChat is a prime example of a super app as it combines messaging, social networking, and mobile payments, along with features like food delivery.
Grab: A Southeast Asian super app, Grab started as a taxi-hailing service but soon expanded to food and grocery delivery, package or courier delivery, financial services, and more.
Gojek: Gojek is another super app that began as a motorcycle taxi-hailing service and expanded into food deliveries, financial payments, transport and logistics, and ticket booking.
What Are the Benefits of Super App Security
Super apps, being an all-in-one application, handle a vast amount of sensitive user data. It is vital to ensure robust security measures are in place to safeguard customer information and maintain trust.
The benefits of super app security are:
1. Data Protection
The implementation of biometrics has helped super apps with robust security. It prevents unauthorized access and safeguards user data and potential breaches. Moreover, biometrics offers strong encryption that securely stores the companyโs and userโs sensitive information.
2. Financial Transactions Security
Biometric authentication prevents fraud and keeps scammers from attempting to steal data. Their advanced security measures help detect and prevent fraudulent activities, securing users and the platform.
Moreover, as super-apps carry multiple financial transactions, they also safeguard the secure payment gateways: These secure payment gateways are encrypted to protect usersโ financial information.
3. Building Customer Trust
Super apps attract a lot of users because of their multi-functional nature. Thus, it is crucial to maintain user confidence. A secure super backed by biometric authentication builds trust and encourages them to explore and transact without the fear of hacking.
Moreover, as a company, it also maintains its brand reputation, thus attracting and retaining a loyal user base.
4. Regulatory Compliance
It is essential to be legally compliant to avoid any penalties or fines. Adhering to data privacy and protection regulations ensures that the super app complies with legal requirements, mitigating the risk of legal issues.
5. Business Operations
With robust security measures, it is easier for companies to protect their operations and contribute to the wellness and stability of the super app. They also act as a firewall to scams and attacks.
6. User Authentication
A strong multi-factor authentication (MFA) keeps the business and userโs profile secure, adding an extra layer of security to the companyโs and userโs accounts.
7. Data Backup and Recovery
Biometric authentication in super apps is backed with data and disaster recovery plans. This ensures the safety and recovery of sensitive data in the event of a theft or data loss in the super apps.
Super Appsโ Data Security and Privacy
Risk management against fraudsters must be at the forefront of development, even though the expanding super app trend is fascinating for improving the user experience and company bottom lines. Super apps carry a much higher attack risk than single-purpose apps.
Compared to a single-purpose app, super apps are a treasure of information, making them much more attractive for criminals if they can gain access. Contact lists, IP addresses, chat histories, web search keywords, bank information, transactions, and more are just a few examples of the sensitive personal identity information that super apps gather.
Super apps were created to incorporate and rely significantly on external, third-party services like mobile wallets, loyalty programs, and money transfers. The use or protection of a personโs data by these third parties is subject to little or no control. Each merchant and technical partner linked to the super app has a different policy regarding storing and sharing customer information.
When all these apps are combined, there is a higher risk of API exposure, potential incompatibility with security models, and data leakage. Super apps cannot ensure they are used by a real person on an actual device, just like any other software. There are numerous ways to hack into the system and access these separately functioning parts.
How Biometrics Enhances Cyber Security
Biometrics enhances cybersecurity by providing advanced authentication methods using unique physical and behavioral characteristics. These identity verification traits offer better safety compared to traditional security measures. Here are the key benefits of including biometrics in your super apps:
1. Enhanced Authentication
When it comes to authentication, biometrics provides a more robust and more secure solution than techniques like passwords. These biometrics authentication characteristics, like fingerprints, iris patterns, facial features, etc., guarantee security and grant access to confidential data only to authorized personnel.
2. Preventing Unauthorized Access
With biometric authentication, the likelihood of unwanted access is significantly decreased. Biometric features are specific to each person, have unique traits, and are difficult to duplicate.
For example, there is significantly less chance that someone will use stolen credentials to obtain unwanted access.
This enhances security and creates a conducive environment for the organization and the users.
3. Transaction Security
We have established that biometrics adds a layer of security. But how does it work? While making an online transaction, the super app asks for your authentication details, such as a fingerprint scan or facial recognition. Once approved, you can proceed with the transaction. This is how biometric authentication provides security and effective identity verification. It confirms the individualโs identity before engaging in transactions, reducing the risk of fraudulent activities.
4. Fraud Prevention
Biometrics is highly effective in preventing fraud. Its authentication methods, including biological traits like fingerprints or facial scans, are hard to replicate. Biometric authentication is crucial in industries like finance and banking, healthcare and patient care, super apps, etc.
5. Biometric Encryption
Although biometrics is hard to replicate, all the data is encrypted and stored securely. The two aspects of making biometric authentication a practical and secure tool are:
1. Replication difficulty
2. Biometric information remains protected from unauthorized access.
Thus, this ensures that only authorized people access the information, and the application remains unintelligible without the proper authentication factors.Thus, this ensures that only authorized people access the information, and the application remains unintelligible without the proper authentication factors.
6. User-Friendly Security
Biometric authentication offers a user-friendly approach to cybersecurity. Unlike passwords or PINs, which can be forgotten, lost, or easily compromised, biometrics provides a seamless and convenient means of verifying identity. This user-friendly aspect encourages individuals to adopt and consistently use secure authentication methods.
Future Trends and Innovations of Super Apps
Super apps are the future! There is no doubt about that! But the question is, how will it evolve and revolutionize our needs? The increasingly dynamic needs of users need a touch of technology. The integration of emerging technologies will help with enhanced personalization, better customer interactions, adoption of the latest trends, and much more.
1. Integration of Emerging Technologies (AI, ML)
Companies include Artificial Intelligence (AI) and Machine Learning (ML) to enhance user experiences and offer better services. The same goes for super apps. AI and ML can perform predictive analytics, allowing super apps to project user preferences and behavior.
For instance, an AI-powered recommendation engine and AI assistant in a super app
These tools can predict and suggest personalized services/ products, conduct customer interactions, understand user behavior, perform data analytics, etc., to ensure a more intuitive user experience.
2. Personalization and Contextualization Experience
The entire concept of super apps is built upon personalization and contextualization. The companies wanted to offer tailor-made services to their customers, hence conceptualizing and expanding their services.
They leverage the customer and behavioral data to create highly personalized content and offer services based on those recommendations.
For instance, a super app could send offer alerts on customersโ daily purchases, reminding them itโs time for this monthโs grocery shopping or recent activities.
3. Blockchain and Cryptocurrency Integration
Integrating blockchain and cryptocurrencies in super apps will help with the transactional space. Blockchain offers instant transactions, transparency, and security, while cryptocurrency provides investments, privacy, trade, etc.
For example, blockchain helps with smart contracts (applicable for rental and delivery services) and gives users a platform to manage their digital assets, conduct secure transactions, and make investments.
4. IoT Integration
The Internet of Things (IoT) is revolutionizing! There are 14 billion connected devices and an expected growth of 25 billion IoT devices by 2030. By integrating with IoT devices, super apps can provide users with a:
- Interconnected and seamless experience
- Better quality of service
- Enhanced user experience due to the data integration
- One-stop-shop experience
For instance, a super app could integrate with wearables and smartwatches, home security devices, connected cars, or smart home devices to offer personalized solutions such as house and baby monitoring, workplace or home automation, health tracking, etc.
5. Regulatory Compliance
Super apps need to stay compliant with regulatory laws. Super apps can offer data privacy, protection, and financial regulations by adhering to these laws. This includes:
- Financial transactions and product/service offerings
- User data handling and storing practices
- Necessary legal documents/licenses, such as user information and payment gateway
The Future of Super App Security
Customers desire apps that are more functional, user-friendly, and secure. This is because they are increasingly using their phones and spending more time online. Banks and financial companies must protect customer data. They can do this by either creating their own super apps or partnering with existing businesses in super app development.
A cybercriminal dreams of concentrating financial services within a few essential apps. But with multi-factor or multimodal biometric authentication solutions like biometrics, it will be challenging to breach security. A super appโs strength must come from its thoughtful security methods and usability, not just one or the other. Without it, neither businesses nor customers can firmly believe that these all-in-one platforms will improve the overall journey and digital experience.
To learn more about the effects of digital identity verification on your business, get in touch with us to schedule a meeting and demo.