The digital market could be fun considering you can enjoy different offerings from shopping unique pieces to booking low-cost flights. And it could even be more fun if you won’t have to worry about your bank account security as you scroll the web for online sales and the likes.
BancNet, the country’s leading multi-channel electronic payments network, has equipped its online banking portal with a stricter accountholder verification system for more secure transactions on the Internet.
Its web portal www.bancnetonline.com now has a two-factor authentication system, called 2FA. With the 2FA system, there is an added layer of security on top of the ATM PIN. The process requires keying in information that only the cardholder knows, aside from his user name and password. This is the one-time PIN, a set of numbers generated and sent to his mobile phone or email.
The 2FA feature of BancNet gives security in a way that, even if the cardholder’s card data and his ATM PIN (Personal Identification Number) are skimmed at a machine, his account cannot be accessed by the thief on the BancNet web portal. The 2FA ensures that the person transacting is the real owner of the account.
“With this implementation, we enable our member banks to deliver not only convenient but also highly secure online banking services to their customers. These services include balance inquiry, fund transfer, bills payment, and payment for purchases,” said BancNet executive vice president and chief executive officer Aristeo Zafra, Jr.
To be able to transact online, you may register your personal and contact information and enroll your BancNet-powered ATM and other debit cards on www.bancnetonline.com. The one-time registration and card enrolment are easy and are also free of charge. All it takes are a few simple steps after clicking “Register Now” on the home page.
After registration, a randomly generated one-time PIN will be sent to the cardholder for every session with his bank. It will be sent through either SMS or e-mail or generated from the BancNet mobile application. The free app is available for download at Google Playstore and the Apple App Store.
Initially, the banks participating in this security enhancement are Asia United Bank (AUB), BPI Direct BanKO, Citystate Savings Bank, CTBC Bank, DBP, Enterprise Bank, Entrepreneur Bank, Equicom Savings Bank, MASS-SPECC, Malayan Savings Bank, Maximum Savings Bank, Overseas Filipino Bank, PBCom, Philtrust Bank, Sterling Bank, Sun Savings Bank, Tiaong Rural Bank, Veterans Bank.
The Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas requires banks to implement multi-factor authentication for sensitive transactions on online channels such as enrolment in transactional e-services, payments, remittance and fund transfers. This is to fend off unauthorized access to a bank account when an ATM or payment card is not present which is the case with online channels. Such fraudulent attempts are expected as more ATM and payment cards are equipped with chip technology which makes card skimming at machines where these are used extremely difficult, if not impossible.