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Towards Perceived Security, Perceived Privacy, and the Universal Design of E-Payment Applications

Urvashi Kishnani, Isabella Cardenas, Jailene Castillo, Rosalyn Conry, Lukas Rodwin, Rika Ruiz, Matthew Walther, Sanchari Das

TL;DR

This study investigates how users perceive security, privacy, and usability in e-payment apps by engineering a high-fidelity prototype with prominent privacy features and diverse MFA options, and conducting in-lab interviews with 12 participants. The results show that users value robust MFA, login notifications, and privacy-conscious design, but usability also shapes perceived security and privacy—highlighting the need for universal design and fine-grained privacy controls. The authors discuss implications for reducing social features, improving transparency about permissions and third-party data, and aligning design with user expectations. Limitations include a small, homogeneous sample and prototype-based evaluation; future work should expand functionality, employ objective usability metrics, and test with broader populations. Overall, the work provides practical recommendations for making e-payment apps more secure, privacy-preserving, and accessible through universal design principles.

Abstract

With the growth of digital monetary transactions and cashless payments, encouraged by the COVID-19 pandemic, use of e-payment applications is on the rise. It is thus imperative to understand and evaluate the current posture of e-payment applications from three major user-facing angles: security, privacy, and usability. To this, we created a high-fidelity prototype of an e-payment application that encompassed features that we wanted to test with users. We then conducted a pilot study where we recruited 12 participants who tested our prototype. We find that both security and privacy are important for users of e-payment applications. Additionally, some participants perceive the strength of security and privacy based on the usability of the application. We provide recommendations such as universal design of e-payment applications.

Towards Perceived Security, Perceived Privacy, and the Universal Design of E-Payment Applications

TL;DR

This study investigates how users perceive security, privacy, and usability in e-payment apps by engineering a high-fidelity prototype with prominent privacy features and diverse MFA options, and conducting in-lab interviews with 12 participants. The results show that users value robust MFA, login notifications, and privacy-conscious design, but usability also shapes perceived security and privacy—highlighting the need for universal design and fine-grained privacy controls. The authors discuss implications for reducing social features, improving transparency about permissions and third-party data, and aligning design with user expectations. Limitations include a small, homogeneous sample and prototype-based evaluation; future work should expand functionality, employ objective usability metrics, and test with broader populations. Overall, the work provides practical recommendations for making e-payment apps more secure, privacy-preserving, and accessible through universal design principles.

Abstract

With the growth of digital monetary transactions and cashless payments, encouraged by the COVID-19 pandemic, use of e-payment applications is on the rise. It is thus imperative to understand and evaluate the current posture of e-payment applications from three major user-facing angles: security, privacy, and usability. To this, we created a high-fidelity prototype of an e-payment application that encompassed features that we wanted to test with users. We then conducted a pilot study where we recruited 12 participants who tested our prototype. We find that both security and privacy are important for users of e-payment applications. Additionally, some participants perceive the strength of security and privacy based on the usability of the application. We provide recommendations such as universal design of e-payment applications.
Paper Structure (13 sections, 1 figure, 1 table)

This paper contains 13 sections, 1 figure, 1 table.

Table of Contents

  1. Introduction
  2. Methodology
  3. Prototype Building
  4. User Study
  5. Results
  6. Security
  7. Privacy
  8. Usability
  9. Discussions and Implications
  10. Future Work and Limitations
  11. Conclusion
  12. Pre-Screening Survey
  13. Interview Questions

Figures (1)

  • Figure 1: Screenshots of Prototype (Left-to-Right: Registration Page, Permissions Page, Home Screen, Settings Page.)