The words ‘bank’ and ‘trust’ are rarely used together these days – at least in a positive sense. So a recent poll by software company Modelling Design Partners (MDP) is good news for the UK financial services industry.
The poll found that Britons are more likely to trust banks to protect their data than politicians, security agencies, mobile phone companies and social media providers.
The survey of people’s attitudes to data security and data privacy reveals that, despite several high-profile security breaches, over a third (37%) of Britons still believe banks can be relied upon to safeguard their personal details.
In contrast, less than a fifth (18%) believe security agencies such as GCHQ can be trusted to protect their data privacy, compared with 8% for mobile phone manufacturers, 7% for mobile signal providers, 5% for politicians and 5% for social media companies such as Facebook and Twitter.
The findings appear to indicate that people view banks as the most trustworthy organisations when it comes to protecting their data in an online world.
Several data-loss incidents at social media and other media companies appear to have had a greater negative impact on consumer trust than mishaps at banks, according to the findings.
Commenting on the results, Brad Thiele, a director at MDP, said the findings appear to show that most people are concerned about data security and their online privacy.
“We’re heading towards a world in which more of our lives are automated and yet people are worried about who owns data on them and how safe it is. The relentless process of connectivity to the web of household objects has opened up new fronts for cyber fraud and people have real concerns about it.”
Sally Percy is editor of The Treasurer