Why online transactions scare South African’s

Are you someone that really enjoys shopping online? Maybe you have an addiction and as soon as you see those shoes online you just have to have them, but what if you’re hacked while making an online payment?

South African online payment providers are suffering massively because consumers have lost a lot of confidence in their security measures, people are so afraid of being hacked while making online transactions.

The International Consumer Security Risks Survey 2014 is a study that was conducted via an online survey from May to June this year. The main purpose of this survey is to find out what worries internet users the most, what actions they are taking or plan to take to protect themselves in the digital world.

A total of 11 135 people from 23 different countries were surveyed, 403 of them were from South Africa., let’s take a look at some of the results:

- 64% of SA users felt vulnerable while shopping online or making online transactions.
- 63% of users said they would rather use online payment systems if they knew they were properly protected from things like cyber fraud.
- 45% of South African’s who make online payments are sure that even the phone apps offered by the financial companies need more protection before they’re truly secure.

Many users have also realized that they need to do their own security measures in addition to the protection offered by the company.

How will online payments develop and advance if online users feel safer actually paying cash or using their bank card, rather than buying something online on their computer or phone. It’s so important for banks and online stores to make sure users feel that they are safe and protected from cyber criminals just imagine how many more people would be doing online payments if they knew there were extra security layers specifically designed to protect transactions and payments made online or from your phone.

Most South African users would be so excited to accept new tools to help manage their responsibility of preventing online fraud, it’s obvious that hackers don’t usually focus on specific targets, they try to scoop up as many victims as possible and it could happen to anyone. Just remember its very risky to use the internet for payments without a safe security system in place!

Contact us today at The Computer Guyz in Cape Town or Centurion and we can offer you a broad range of services; general IT support, website and graphic design not to mention some friendly advice whenever you need it.  

Written By: Christine Romans
CopyWriter at The Computer Guyz Cape Town