Consumer Confidence In Credit/Debit Card Security Low After Breaches
By Anna Rose Welch, Editorial & Community Director, Advancing RNA
While consumers haven’t completely changed payment methods, more do plan to use cash
Just how much damage did the latest retail breaches do to consumers’ confidence in credit/debit card security? According to a new survey by Balance Innovations, consumers are actually more confident in food safety than they are in credit/debit card security. Only about 39 percent of consumers are “very confident” that using a credit or debit card at their primary grocery store is safe compared to the 49 percent of consumers that are very confident in food safety. This particular survey was focused on consumers’ feelings of security while shopping in grocery stores. In terms of payment security, a majority of customers (53 percent) feel their payment card data is safe in a supermarket compared to 33 percent of supercenter shoppers.
While these breaches contributed to consumers’ low confidence, a majority of consumers haven’t completely altered their payment methods. Of those surveyed, 59 percent report that they haven’t made any changes in their payment methods. However, 32 percent of consumers say they do plan to use cash more often.
The results also show that consumer confidence in credit/debit cards varies according to age. The older the customer, the less confidence they had about using a credit card in their primary grocery store. Only 30 percent of shoppers age 50 to 64 said they were confident about credit card security compared to 48 percent of millennials. Though, millennials do seem more conscious of security after these breaches, especially considering 46 percent say they have begun to use cash more often.
As more consumers open their wallets for cash at the register, retailers will need to be prepared to manage what Balance Innovations says is this more time-consuming payment method. “Many consumers like to use cash because it’s anonymous and carries little risk, but for retailers it can be very time consuming to manage and reconcile,” Shelley Bosler for Balance Innovations says. “Increased usage of cash among consumers makes it all the more important for retailers to optimize cash processing policies at both the corporate and store levels.”