OneKey to secure all online transactions? (But no bank has joined the system??)

Hmm...I'm interested to find out why no bank has joined this OneKey system.

A new national system called "OneKey" was launched Monday to help make online transactions more secure.

OneKey is a device with a keypad the size of a name card. It's meant to replace the current system, where users receive one-time passwords via their mobile phones or token devices.

OneKey was rolled out by Assurity Trusted Solutions, a subsidiary of the Infocomm Development Authority of Singapore (IDA).

Assurity said existing devices are vulnerable to sophisticated hacking where personal information can be stolen and unencrypted SMSes can be sniffed out.

OneKey secures online transactions by ensuring that whoever is using the system is an authentic user. And it does more than generate one-time passwords.

OneKey allows users to enter details like account numbers and transaction amounts.

That's an added layer of verification and a stronger defence against increasingly sophisticated hackers.

OneKey gives users access to multiple online platforms, which means they can do online banking with different banks, using just one device.

No bank has joined the system so far. Some, like DBS Bank, recently rolled out their own upgraded device. But the developers of OneKey are unfazed.

Lim Hup Seng, executive chairman of Assurity Trusted Solutions, said: "If I were the bank, I'd do the same thing that DBS is doing. Why? Because they'd want to make sure that their service gets down to the user. But it's possible for them to transit over at any time they choose. I'm not worried about that. They only have to decide that OneKey is suitable for them, and we can do the transition quite quickly."

Three companies - Phillip Securities, Kim Eng Securities and ST Electronics - have signed up for the OneKey project.

Apart from financial institutions, OneKey's developers are also targeting e-government transactions to better protect, for instance, sensitive income tax information on the Web.

Singapore's tax authority says it is studying the OneKey project, but no decision has been made yet.

Other possible e-government transactions that could use the authenticating service include online applications for work permits.

From Channel NewsAsia, "OneKey for more secure online transactions".