Ithmaar Bank, a Bahrain-based Islamic retail bank, has introduced a new sophisticated security feature for online financial transactions which is susceptible to online fraud.

The interactive new security feature was introduced to add an additional level of protection for bank customers, and will help further enhance their online banking experience, said a statement.

“There is an alarming increase, across the region, in online security breaches,” said Ithmaar Bank CEO and member of the board, Mohammed A Rahman Bucheerei. “This translates to a pronounced need for improving security measures across the board and, for our part, we have taken decisive steps towards improving customer security online.”

The online banking portal’s new security feature generates a new password every time a customer attempts a potentially high risk transaction, like transferring funds to a third party. The system-generated password is sent, in real time, to the customer’s mobile phone as an SMS and, until it is fed back into the online portal, the customer cannot complete the transaction.

“In effect, the new security feature creates a live sentry at the most critical points in the online banking system,” said Bucheerei. “If you can prove that it is really you in real time, as much as you would at a brick and mortar branch, you won’t be able to complete the transaction,” he said.

“This is an additional layer of security, along with all the other systems already in place to ensure authenticity,” he added. “Working together, these make for an exceptionally secure online banking experience, although there will always be some risk of fraud.”

“Online banking is fast becoming an integral, almost indispensible, delivery channel for customers. This, in line with our long-standing commitment to continuously improving our delivery channels and customer service offerings, puts a tremendous amount of responsibility on us to ensure the best possible online banking experience,” he said.

“To do so, we invest heavily in staying abreast with the latest technology to keep us comfortably ahead of local and even regional retail banks. Online banking allows customers round the clock access to a wide range of banking services from almost anywhere in the world,” he concluded.– TradeArabia News Service