Do global consumers trust the finance sector with their data?

A survey of 17 countries shows that the majority of people are comfortable handing their personal data to banks and financial services providers.

There has been a significant rise in online activity during the pandemic as people have adapted to various coronavirus-related restrictions around the world. As a result, banks and other financial services have been forced to offer more digital services – or strengthen their existing offerings.

According to international data collected by YouGov, globally, most people (55%) do feel comfortable handing over personal details to banks and financial institutions. That makes the sector one of the most trustworthy for consumers.

People in Poland (85%), Indonesia (70%) and Germany (68%) are most likely to attest to this, while trust is lowest among Spaniards (43%), Italians (38%) and the French (37%).

Differences in confidence across countries when sharing data with banks may party be explained by different regulatory approaches to data sharing. Although some rules are harmonised (eg GDPR across the EU), countries tend to take varying approaches – something which may contribute to trust among the public.

Of the sectors YouGov looked at, the banking industry is the most trusted.

Methodology: The data is based on the interviews of adults aged 18 and over in 17 markets with sample sizes varying between 505 to 2,251 for each market. All interviews were conducted online in February 2021. Data from each market uses a nationally representative sample apart from Mexico and India, which use urban representative samples, and Indonesia and Hong Kong, which use online representative samples.

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