Framework For Improved Security On Usage Of Mobile Money Application Based On Iris Biometric Authentication Method In Tanzania

ABSTRACT

The usage of personal identification number (PIN) as an authentication method in accessing mobile money services (MMSs) conveys many security flaws as it is easy to be forged, not being hidden when entered, and easy to be shared among users, all of these may cause unauthorized access to MMSs. This study focused on proposing a framework to improve security on the usage of MMS by using two-factor authentication (2FA) of PIN and iris biometric authentication method in Tanzania. With this framework secured access to MMS can be archived. The study used the mixed research approach to achieve the study objectives, observation, and literature review applied in designing the framework to improve security level in accessing MMS based on iris recognition biometric authentication method (IRBAM) and develop mobile money applications based on the designed framework. Questionnaires were used to obtain the user’s perceptions of evaluating the effectiveness of the framework based on the usage of developed mobile money application. The rapid application development (RAD) approach is used in the development of mobile money application based on the proposed framework. Use-case and flow chart diagrams were used to depict the flow of information between mobile money users (MMU) and mobile network operators (MNO). Different tools and programming languages were used in a development environment, for example, Microsoft Visio, MySQL database, Android studio, PHP, JSON, and java. The results obtained from the evaluation of the effectiveness of the developed mobile money application have concluded that 46.1% and 51.9% of customers and agents respectively have strongly agreed that the implementation of the proposed framework will eliminate unauthorized access to MMS. Furthermore, 85.5% of customers and 71.6% of agents have accepted to use the developed mobile money application based on the proposed framework. The implementation of the proposed framework using 2FA of PIN and iris biometric authentication method has shown to remove unauthorized access to MMSs. This study recommends MNO and other stakeholders to use the findings of this study as a roadmap to help guide them in improving security in accessing MMS.