Technology Evolution is a theory that looks at the radical transformation of society due to technological developments, and is broken into 3 stages: It began with humans' use of tools, slowly evolving to their use of machines, and then rapidly progressing to automation and Artificial Intelligence. The evolution of the mobile banking app has undergone a similar, albeit on a much less grand scale, transformation. What started as a tool for early adopters to check balances and perhaps transfer funds from their cellular devices, mobile banking apps in their infancy still required members to perform the majority of their banking functions either online or in-branch. As the technology advanced, more and more features became available to members, where the app was put to work to perform banking tasks members used to have to do on a more manual basis. In the past couple of years, however, mobile apps have rapidly evolved to automate many parts of the banking experience for members. Integration of product features and a better user experience have become the expectation, not the exception, for members using your credit union's app.

Mobile Banking is expected to hit 3 billion users by 2021. For members, this increases convenience and efficiency. For credit unions, a larger amount of market share is available to gain a younger generation of members and to serve the under-banked. For hackers, the opportunities to steal confidential financial information are abundant! Hackers are targeting mobile phones and banking apps using malware and phishing schemes, and while security measures on smartphones are becoming more and more sophisticated, the criminals are relentless. Here are 10 reminders for members (and you) to help protect their data when using mobile banking apps:

It's seemingly an everyday occurrence: You want to access your Outlook email, you have to wait for a passcode to be sent via text message. You want to check the status of a dental claim on your insurance website, you have to verify it's you after entering the password with an email confirmation. You want to place an order for a Chipotle burrito on the mobile app, you are challenged with holding your phone at a 60 degree angle while performing a preset dance routine that symbolizes your love for burrito bowls while the app scans your retina for verification that nobody else is hacking your lunch order. While the process of two-factor authentication may irritate you when in a hurry, it is quickly becoming more commonplace, accepted and part of our daily routine. But... is it really necessary?

The US is on high alert for cyber attacks as a form of retaliation from Iran, and US government agencies and experts have stressed that the financial services industry should be on particularly high alert. Prior to the recent turmoil in the mid-east, Finserv companies were already on high alert having experienced a 147% increase in phishing attacks between January and September 2019 from scammers imitating financial organizations. This new warning, however, poses a much greater threat than individual or small group attacks, having international political implications.

There is now a whole economy of cybercrime developing specifically targeting the financial services sector and its consumers. Phishing, Credential Stuffing and other web-based attacks have had a huge cost and impact on the industry...to the tune of nearly $3 million per minute! What can be done to protect your members and their information from a cyber attack and minimize the expense if one should happen? A combination of technology and education can be your best defense.

The month of July is here and with it brings the mid-summer shopping frenzy. Credit cards get a work-out as consumers join the melee of sales, deals and offers too good to resist. The traditional Christmas in July sales offer consumers great deals on big ticket items like cars, laptops and electronics, among other in-store and online deals. Those sales are further boosted by vacation and travel spending (gas, hotels, car rentals, airline, and amusement park tickets) and the eventual back-to-school shopping. Adding to this mix for the last 5 years is a new consumer shopping phenomenon - Amazon Prime Days.

Credit unions who utilize core technology that offers open architecture no doubt did their research and entered into a core provider partnership with their credit union's future in mind. In doing so, they set themselves up to offer members current fintech as soon as it becomes available. Using API (Application Program interface) technology, new third-party applications can easily interact with any credit union app to provide additional services, features and added conveniences. While inviting third-party technology to work and interact with your digital banking technology is a simple and expedient solution to boost your member offerings, is it safe? Is it smart to let them have access to your member’s accounts?

Recently Facebook experienced the largest one-day drop in history when it’s stock price plummeted $41.24, which turned out to be a decrease just shy of 20%. Facebook’s stock price has proven to be volatile throughout 2018 between decreasing user engagement, the Cambridge Analytica data breach, and Zuckerberg’s highly televised testimony to Congress. However, the biggest hit came at the end of July when Facebook released its Q2 earnings report, which unsettled investors once they saw a decline in active Facebook users, new obstacles emerging from Europe’s updated privacy laws, and concerns regarding the monetization of ads on Instagram leading to an overarching concern about Facebook’s potential profitability moving forward. Despite the variety of issues that led to Facebook’s demise in the stock market, the source of these problems all stems from one place: Security.

We hate to be "that" person, but we told you so. As predicted, Card Not Present (CNP) credit card fraud continues to rise since the establishment of EMV technology (chip cards) last October. CNP transactions include any payment made where the card is not physically present, online, over the phone or mobile. While card present fraud experienced a 43% decrease, according to Visa, CNP fraud experienced a direct increase. The US Payments Forum 2017 report stated that the increase in security of chip cards forced fraudsters to focus their attention on an easier target: CNP transactions. The report concluded that this trend will continue into 2018 and consumers can expect fraud dollars to exceed $6 billion.