According to ACI Worldwide, majority of UK consumers have doubts about the ability of businesses and financial institutions to manage confidential data safely. For instance, 19 percent of respondents say they do not trust firms to protect their data and 33 percent responded they are unsure. Confidence levels were similar across the globe and only three countries had more than 50 percent of respondents indicated that they trust institutions to protect their financial and payments data.

The Global Consumer Survey: Consumer Trust and Security Perceptions held survey among more than 6,000 consumers. The respondents represented about 20 countries and were surveyed on their perceptions and opinions toward fraud in shopping, data protection, and the ways they want to engage with firms to minimise fraud.

More than a third of UK respondents (35%) consequently see theft by computer hackers as the biggest fraud risk. While using cards for purchases via telephone, using a phone or tablet to shop or pay bills and shopping online are all perceived as less risky. After experiencing fraud or data breach, 56 percent of UK consumers said they would stop shopping with a given merchant.

Other key findings of the report:

-Mobile Wallet Adoption: Mobile wallet and payments adoption is strongest in regions where other electronic payments options—particularly card payments infrastructure—is less mature, for example India (56%), Thailand (51%) and Mexico (38%) compared to ‘mature card markets’ in Europe like the UK (14%), France (15%) and Netherlands (20%).

-Mobile Wallet Security: Consumers show a surprisingly high level of confidence when it comes to mobile wallet security. For example, 93 percent of UK respondents say they believe mobile wallet technology is secure or somewhat secure, one of the highest rates globally.

-Fraud Education: Consumer education on fraud awareness varies significantly across and within regions. In the UK, only 39 percent of consumers say they have received anti-fraud information from their bank. Across Europe, the picture is similar with at least one-third of consumers saying they don’t recall receiving any anti-fraud information.

-Fraud Prevention: Consumers are generally willing to interact with organisations in order to mitigate fraud. The majority of UK consumers (55 percent) prefer to be contacted by a bank via mobile phone if there is unusual activity on a bank account or card.

Overall, the research shows that consumers want to proactively manage fraud, particularly by leveraging mobile technology – whether it’s text or talk. This willingness opens opportunities for financial institutions and merchants to optimise the ways in which they reach out and communicate with consumers, ultimately improving customer experience while reducing operational costs and fraud losses.