KB Bank will use the Trustonic Application Protection (TAP) in-app protection platform to improve the security of the high-value transactions

KB Bank

Korea’s KB Bank uses Trustonic in-app protection to enhance mobile banking experience.(Credit: Pixabay/Niek Verlaan)

South Korean bank KB Kookmin Bank (KB Bank) has selected mobile cybersecurity company Trustonic to enhance authentication experience of its mobile banking app users.

KB Bank will use the Trustonic Application Protection (TAP) in-app protection platform to improve the security of the high-value transactions.

The bank will combine TAP with its new digital authentication certificates to simplify its customers’ access to banking services.

It will also allow customers to verify higher value transfers in-app, without the necessity for security tokens or unified user authentication.

Earlier, app users had to renew public authentication certificates regularly for safety purpose.

However, now TAP provides in-app protection to new KB Mobile Certificates, which do not need to be renewed unless revoked by the user or unused for a year.

Trustonic Application Protection enables high-value transactions with advanced security

The TAP in-app protection platform allows high-value transactions with advanced security and improves overall user experience.

Kookmin Bank senior executive vice president Han said: “With our long-standing partner Trustonic, we are able to vastly improve the in-app user experience and allow our users to authorise much higher value transactions.

“Some security solutions make you choose between security, user experience and performance but with TAP there’s no compromise.”

South Korea-based bank’s users can now transfer up to KRW2m (nearly $1,700) using their account password and KRW50m (nearly $41,000) using a password and six-digit PIN.

A maximum of KRW500m ($404,901) can be transferred using a password, a PIN and an additional authentication code sent via an automated phone call.

The TAP in-app protection platform protects the mobile app by upgrading it with recent hardware and software security technologies available on smartphones.

Trustonic CEO Dion Price said: “Korea’s certificate-based authentication infrastructure has historically limited the user experience for mobile banking apps.

“By making its banking app more seamless and secure with Trustonic’s unique combination of hardware and software in-app protection, KB Bank has vastly improved the user experience.”

KB Bank delivers online and mobile banking services to more than 10 million customers.

Launched in 2019, the KB Star Banking app has acquired 3 million active users so far.