UK fintech vendor Misys has launched a service that enables bank customers to use location-based social media applications such as Foursquare to confirm their whereabouts to authorise transactions.
Confirming a customer's location abroad, and the process of reimbursing them for any fraudulent withdrawals, is a significant cost for banks, claims Misys.
The firm's location aggregation service, GeoGuard, collates geographic information from the likes of Facebook Places, foursquare, Gowalla and TripIt, which customers can allow their banks to request.
The service is built and delivered on a social enterprise platform for custom app development from salesforce.com and can be implemented on a bank's existing infrastructure without installing any on-premise software or hardware.
Misys stresses that GeoGuard does not provide banks with tracking information, but instead allows customers choose their preferred method and frequency for confirming their location. Misys acts as a third party - never allowing the bank to be in possession of the customer location.
By using existing social networks, users do not have to access specific bank services to update their information. However, customers who prefer not to use social networks can still let their bank know their location by integrating with existing channels, such as online and mobile banking.
Tim Tyler, solution manager, Misys, says: "By mashing up banking and location-based services, customers will be able to improve control of their funds automatically with a little help from their existing location-based social networks' interactions. Misys GeoGuard allows the bank to benefit from these social networks in a highly secure way that gives the customer total control and confidence."