The only slight concern I have over security is how blissfully easy it is to pay a large amount of money to a new merchant at a time that I don’t usually make any payments. Although Monzo isn’t the only card provider that’s guilty of this.
Last week I paid several hundred pounds for a hotel using a different currency after midnight to an online merchant I’ve never spent any money with before using that account. That was on Barclaycard not Monzo btw.
Some banks such as HSBC have intelligent behavioural recognition system built-in that detects anything out of the ordinary, flagging it as potential fraud before authorising the payment. I’m not entirely sure how the authorisation process works in this situation but I have heard of it happening to some users. They receive a phone call, either to the card holder’s mobile or the merchant’s phone and the card holder would then be asked to pass a security test over the phone.
All that sounds like a bit too much hassle but at the same time kind of provides peace of mind that my money would be so well protected.
In the case of Monzo, I’d imagine I receive a notification where I must either enter my pre-registered passcode or verify by Touch ID if my requested purchase not fit my usual spending habits. I might also be given the option to confirm that the requested transaction is actually fraudulent, in which case the location could be passed to the local police and the fraudster gets arrested.
http://feedzai.com/use-cases/authorize-payments/
Some key indicators for fraudulent behaviour might be:
- Frequent high value transactions
- Use of different currencies in quick succession
- Use of card in multiple locations separated by long distance in quick succession
- Use of card at an irregular time of day/night
- High value transaction at a merchant never used on that card before
I can’t think of any other indicators. Would somebody else want to weigh in?