It’s no secret that data privacy and protection have been top of mind for consumers, governments, financial institutes, and private companies alike, with no signs of it ever becoming less critical. Indeed, with data capturing technologies becoming more and more effective at collecting, maintaining, and sharing data, the concerns about responsible use of data have steadily grown. Further driving its relevance, the recent pandemic has also escalated our online activities such as online shopping and working remotely, leading to a vast amount of data being generated overall, while the big tech companies have been using this data to optimise their services and online payment methods.
But how confident are consumers that this data is being used to their benefit and not being exploitative?
Consumer’s willingness to share their data has declined in recent years because of misuse or even identity fraud. In Europe and especially in the Netherlands, consumer confidence ranks the lowest in the entire world. This is especially true for big tech companies who often store consumers’ data without adequate communication about the details of what is done with this data to consumers; this, coupled with how these misuses are covered in the news media, has led to an all-time confidence low.
Interestingly, consumer trust in the financial industries regarding data privacy has been untouched; in fact, it has increased.
Why is that?
It turns out; consumers trust their financial institutions with their data more than their own governments. This is due to a couple of reasons. Firstly, consumers trust that the initiatives such as the GDPR work in their favor for financials. Secondly, unlike the 2008 financial crisis where banks were seen as part of the problem, during this pandemic, banks have been seen as part of the solution, acting quickly to ensure people and businesses still had access to capital that ensured the economy could weather the storm. Lastly, consumers see on the news that supervision of financial institutions has become increasingly stricter over the years, and this has led to a change in consumers’ perception of banks. Consumers understand that such a heavily regulated industry is under a lot of scrutinies and will also need to apply high standards to their data handling, and therefore they are more willing to share it.
The implementation of GDPR and other laws surrounding data remains very complex but clearly are effective in gaining and keeping customer trust. At ACE, we can help you make sense of complicated regulations while supporting your implementation efforts.
If you have any questions about complying with any regulations, reach out.
As always, thanks for reading,
TEAM ACE
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