Using Digital Wallets Safely

By Raghu Valipireddy , SVP, Chief Information Security Officer, Axos Financial

We use our phones for everything — calling, searching the web, playing games, watching TV — so it makes sense we’d use our phones to pay for things as well. That’s where the digital wallet, a way to pay straight from your bank accounts with your smart phone, comes in.

Tools such as Apple Pay, Samsung Pay, and Google Pay have been rising in popularity, with more and more vendors accepting them as payment. As with all technology, it’s important to keep safety in mind before you start relying on a digital wallet.

Are digital wallets safe?

Simply put, yes. In fact, digital wallets may be even safer than physical cards because of encryption and tokenization. When you use your digital wallet, your personal information is heavily encrypted as it’s transmitted.

Digital wallets also use tokenization, where your personal data is replaced with an impersonal digital equivalent token that is randomly generated for each transaction. Because it’s random and impersonal, it can’t be used to steal your personal information. Credit cards with EMV chips use tokenization as well when used for physical transactions.

Digital wallets also provide a safer alternative to entering in your card number when making an online purchase. You can use your digital wallet for online purchases and receive more security from encryption and tokenization.

How can I use a digital wallet safely?

You can follow these steps to safely use your digital wallet.

1. Protect your mobile device with a strong and unique password.

Gone are the days of setting your password as password123. Cyber criminals have evolved, so you need to upgrade the strength of your passwords. If you’re going to use the digital wallet on your phone, it’s important to protect that phone with a good password.

Make your password random, long, and unique. Try using phrases that you’ll easily remember but would be hard to guess. You can read our article on how to come up with great passwords.

Biometrics also add an extra layer of security by requiring your fingerprint or other physical attribute to unlock your device.

2. Enable phone location so you can find your device if you lose it.

It’s easy to lose your phone, especially if you take it everywhere. If you’re going to use your phone as a digital wallet, it’s a smart idea to enable phone location so you can track your phone if you lose it.

Depending on what smartphone you have, you may be able to remotely enable GPS locating on your device even if it’s turned off when you misplace it. This is a very helpful feature to keep your personal financial information safe.

3. Keep an eye on your accounts.

A great way to avoid fraud is to monitor your accounts frequently. This helps you detect and stop fraud before more occurs.

One of the easiest ways to do this is with an account management tool that allows you to see all your transactions in one place. That way, you never miss a purchase. The Axos All-In-One Mobile Banking app makes it easy — even if you don’t have an Axos Bank account.

If you’re interested in adding your Axos debit cards to your digital wallet, you can follow these instructions to set it up.

And one last piece of advice: Be sure to research the safety practices of your debit and credit card providers. You can easily access ours through our online Security Center.

Raghu Valipireddy is SVP, Chief Information Security Officer at Axos Financial, the holding company for Axos Bank, Axos Clearing, and Axos Invest. Axos Bank is a nationwide online bank that provides consumer and business banking products through its low-cost distribution channels and affinity papers.

Raghu holds an MBA with an emphasis in Strategy from the University of Michigan, Stephen M. Ross School of Business. He has been with Axos since 2018.