New benchmark data from ACI Worldwide and the Aite Group reveals that consumers in the Asia Pacific region are more worried about the security of their financial and payment information on computers compared to mobile wallets. This conclusion comes from their Global Consumer Survey: Consumer Trust and Security Perceptions report.
The study, which surveyed over 6,000 consumers across 20 countries, found that only 46% of Asia Pacific consumers trust businesses, such as restaurants and retailers, to safeguard their financial data. Conversely, approximately 80% of consumers generally feel secure about their mobile wallet data.
While payments increasingly shift to mobile platforms and global fraud is on the rise, consumers need to be extra cautious about mobile fraud protection. The widespread adoption of mobile wallets and the continuous shift towards online shopping are leading to an imbalance in consumer perception regarding the safety of their payment data.
Here are some key findings from the Asia Pacific respondents:
Only 46% of consumers trust businesses, including stores, online shopping sites, and restaurants, to protect their financial and payments data. Confidence levels vary across countries: Indonesia (47%), Singapore (36%), Australia (40%), and New Zealand (42%) show lower trust levels, while India (60%) and Thailand (51%) show higher trust levels, with at least 50% of respondents believing their data is well-protected.
About 80% of consumers feel at least somewhat secure using mobile wallets, with India standing out at over 90%.
Theft through computer hacking is the most significant fraud concern across the region, with Indonesia (37%), India (33%), and Thailand (31%) expressing the highest levels of concern.
A majority of consumers, reaching 76% in Indonesia, 73% in India, and 65% in Singapore, would stop making purchases from a merchant after experiencing fraud or a data breach.
Despite anti-fraud education and training efforts from many institutions, awareness remains low. Under 50% of respondents in Singapore, Australia, and New Zealand reported seeing any anti-fraud education in 2016.
Most consumers are highly receptive to receiving calls or SMS messages on their mobile devices to help prevent fraud.
Andreas Suma, VP and global lead for fraud and data at ACI Worldwide, emphasized the need for the payments industry to actively educate consumers about existing security measures. This would alleviate concerns, improve customer experience, and reduce fraud losses. He also urged consumers to take a proactive role in safeguarding their data by utilizing fraud prevention tools offered by financial institutions.
Shirley Inscoe, Senior Analyst at Aite Group, highlighted the opportunity for financial institutions to leverage consumers’ willingness to manage fraud through mobile technology. By optimizing communication channels and offering mobile-based fraud prevention tools, institutions can enhance customer experience while reducing operational costs and fraud losses.
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*ACI Worldwide conducted online quantitative market research in April 2016, surveying 6,035 consumers across 20 countries:
The Americas: Brazil, Canada, Mexico, and the US
EMEA: France, Germany, Italy, the Netherlands, South Africa, Sweden, the UAE, and the UK
APAC region: Australia, India, Indonesia, New Zealand, and Singapore
China, Russia, and Poland from the 2014 study were replaced with Spain, Thailand, and Hungary in 2016.
The research included approximately 300 consumers per country, split evenly between men and women, totaling 6,035 participants. 5,861 respondents own at least one payment card, including credit, debit, or prepaid.
This is ACI’s fourth survey of this nature, incorporating comparative findings from 2012 and 2014. Each country’s data has a margin of error of about five points. Statistical tests of significance, where presented, were performed at a 95% confidence level.