Despite the growing popularity of smartphones and the multitude of mobile applications they enable, Canadians are hesitant about wireless banking services, due in large part to concerns about security.

In a survey of 300 Canadians by the consultancy, KPMG, 8% said they had made a purchase over the internet using their mobile phone, while 15% had done some form of mobile banking. Overall, only 19% said that they felt “comfortable” using their mobile phone for financial transaction.

“The dominating results that we’ve seen are a lot of concerns about security and privacy,” commented Yvon Audette, the leader of KPMG’s IT advisory division in Canada.

In a broader survey of 5,267 mobile phone users from 22 countries, KPMG found that 79% were concerned about unauthorized access to their personal information, up from 73% in 2008.

“In sum, consumers are becoming more, not less concerned about their information’s security and their personal privacy,” KPMG noted in its report.