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ARTICLE · 23 MAY 2017

Sending cash using mobile messaging apps - a fraud risk?

KordaMentha
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Mobile peer-to-peer payments could top AUD350 billion worldwide in 2019, and may be yet another tool for fraudsters.

AustraliaTechnology
KordaMentha Forensic
KordaMentha Forensic
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At the ASIC Annual Forum 2017, a few themes resonated. In particular, the rise of Fintech (the use of technology for the delivery of financial services) and mobile peer-to-peer payments: people send money through social media without even using a mobile banking app.

It's reported1 that, during last year's Chinese Spring Festival, 516 million people used the Chinese social media app WeChat to send 32 billion digital red packets over a 6-day period. (Red packets are traditionally given as gifts at Lunar New Year).

WeChat's data2 shows that typical users send 28 red packets each month, totalling around AUD 110. Below is data showing the number of red packets sent on the day of Chinese holidays:

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