Implementing digital signature on mobile devices to the Alfa business mobile application featuring fingerprint authorization

«A digital signature with fingerprint authorization significantly increases the level of payment security at Alfa Business Mobile. In addition, it is very convenient. Every day we get a positive feedback from customers. More than 20% of users choose to the first proposal to use payment authorization with a fingerprint in our corporate mobile application».

Denis Osin, Head of the Small and Medium Corporate Business Unit, Alfa Bank

The project background and objectives

Alfa Bank sets the highest requirements on the functionality, convenience, and security of its customer remote services. These issues became especially relevant in the course of choosing a solution for generation of financial transaction signatures by users of Alfa Business Mobile app. The Bank chose PayControl, a software package developed by a Russian company SafeTech, through a thorough analysis of document and financial transaction authorization technologies presented on the Russian market by leading domestic and world developer.

Solution description

PayControl is a digital signature solution for smartphones that allows customers to confirm their transactions in any digital channel (online banking, mobile banking, CNP operations, telephone banking (Private bank), and others) with a high level of security and convenience. It can work as a standalone application for a smartphone, or can be integrated directly into a mobile banking application.

The main advantage of PayControl compared to traditional payment authorization methods (i.e., a one-time password via SMS) is that the transaction confirmation code is generated directly on the client’s mobile device. The code is tied to the transaction details, so its interception will not help fraudsters steal funds from the account.

Project features

PayControl transaction authorization solution on mobile devices allows Alfa Bank customers to use additional biometric identification feature and authorize payments with a fingerprint, which significantly increases customer loyalty, and also reduces the cost of services of mobile operators.

Results and business effect

The introduction of PayControl eliminates the need for mobile bank users to manually enter transaction confirmation codes received in SMS. Now, information about the transaction is displayed on the screen of a tablet or smartphone once the payment document is issued, and the customer can sign the document with a digital signature in one touch. The signature is generated based on the data of a particular transaction, the time of its execution, and the mobile device fingerprint, while the digital signature key is activated by a fingerprint (Touch ID) or a special customer password. Using the geolocation data of mobile bank customers increases the security of transactions and minimizes the risk of fraud.

Having implemented the digital signing of financial transactions on a mobile device into the Alfa Business Mobile app, Alfa Bank attained the below results:

• create the necessary conditions to allow for complete mobility of users who can now operate without being tied to a PC at any time, directly on a smartphone;
• increase the number of transactions via the Alfa Business Mobile app;
• increase the number of transactions via the Alfa Business Mobile app;
• reduce the transaction security costs in remote banking systems for corporate customers.