Online Banking Firms Can’t Bank on Trust

Trust is critical to generating customer loyalty in online banking. But with every phishing attack and e-mail scam, consumer confidence crumbles, bit by bit. A recent survey by the Ponemon Institute found that consumers with a high level of trust in their primary bank are loyal: 55% of them say that they never visit another bank’s website. However, among these same consumers, 37% would take their business elsewhere if there was just one privacy breach, while another 41% would stay with their bank but cease online banking. Banks should also be careful about sending e-mails to their customers: Only 21% of respondents said that an e-mail from their bank is “always” or “most of the time” information they want to receive. That doesn’t sound too trustworthy.