Abstract
M.Sc. (Computer Science)
In the rapidly evolving world that we live in, the methods by which items are purchased are starting to be revolutionized. In a developing country such as South Africa, financial institutions within the banking sector are starting to implement their own systems or processes to process bank transactions. These processes include the identification and authentication of bank transactions, as well as the validation of the integrity of bank transactions between buyer and merchant. The changing of these processes by the banking sector could be viewed as a result of the increase in mobile device users.
The purpose of the research presented within this dissertation is to explore an alternative
method for identifying and authenticating a user in order to authorize a purchase made from a mobile device. The research will include evidence for the necessity of an alternative process as well as investigate the current technology by examining a few mobile banking solutions provided by the banking sector. The alternative process will be based upon a prototype design, which will employ Near Field Communication (NFC) technology to forward the purchase information from a point-of-sale (POS) device to the client’s mobile device, as well as employ fingerprint recognition technology to improve the identification and authentication of a user in order to authorize the purchase. The prototype will be known as BankAuth. The researcher hopes that this dissertation encourages other academics to discover new approaches in further researching mobile banking solutions.