The study found that 72% of US consumers feel adequately protected by their banks from fraud despite the US having the highest reported fraud rate among global respondents. The overconfidence consumers have in banks could be detrimental to consumer financial health, FICO says. The global portion of the survey – conducted from 12,028 participants across 12 countries – found that 46.3% of US respondents have reported actual or suspected fraud to banks. “The research suggests that consumers globally and, in the US, can be too complacent about the risk certain fraudsters pose, with only 5% worrying about real-time payment fraud, and unwilling to accept new fraud management measures if it creates too much friction in the purchasing process and affects the customer experience,” the company said in the release. Banks will need to continue to promote financial literacy and best practices as they growingly emphasize digital banking. J.D. Power found that how competent consumers feel with the technology, and how transparent banks are, directly link to customer satisfaction. FICO found that 28% of US consumers will switch banks if they feel dissatisfied by how their bank responds to an instance of fraud. How banks implement anti-fraud measures and respond to fraud cases will continue to be of high importance as the number of digital banking customers rises. “Even if consumers are not overly worried, financial institutions still need to be on their behalf. Organizations will need to continue to adapt and evolve to fight existing and emerging fraud threats. At the same time, they need to carefully balance fraud management with sustaining customer trust, and delivering frictionless digital and in-person customer experiences,” FICO Chief Marketing Officer Nikhil Behl said in the press release. The study found that 28% of US consumers are concerned about having their identity stolen and used to open new accounts, 26% were concerned about account takeover, and 22% were worried about credit card fraud. 46% of consumers reported being a victim of fraud in the past. “The survey reinforces the fact that banks need to strike the right balance between implementing security measures to prevent and manage fraud, without disrupting the customers’ online experience,” the company said.
