Voters still trust financial institutions over retailers to develop new payment technologies and safeguard personal information during the checkout process, according to new Morning Consult survey data.
In fact, a strong majority of voters expect retailers to step up when it comes to payments. Four in five voters agree that stores should update their technologies to ensure customers have a range of payment options at the register and that retailers should share in the infrastructure fees that make electronic payments possible.
“Financial institutions continue to develop new technologies to make electronic payments quicker, safer, and more convenient—all of which make retailers’ and consumers’ lives better,” said Jeff Tassey, chairman of the board of the Electronic Payments Coalition (EPC). “However, the onus is on retailers to step up and protect their customers at the checkout. As the recent data breach at Lord & Taylor showed, retailers must be proactive and do their fair share by updating their technology and safeguarding sensitive payment card information.”
Since November 2017, retailers have seen a 15 percent drop in voter trust when it comes to payment technology innovation. Meanwhile, at least 70 percent of voters trust banks, credit unions, credit card companies, and other financial institutions to innovate payment technology, with 1 in 2 trusting these entities the most.
These institutions also rank higher than big-box retailers and smaller businesses, both in store and online, when it comes to trust in protecting payment card information. That’s no surprise, as retailers are not subject to federal data security standards and have seen several breaches in recent weeks, including those at Best Buy, Kmart, Panera Bread, and Lord & Taylor.
“As the number of retail breaches continues to rise, more and more consumers have had financial data compromised and their lives upended,” said Tassey. “To combat this, financial institutions go beyond their federal requirements to protect consumers. This is likely why voters trust them to lead the way on all types of innovation. Retailers, a major part of the payments ecosystem, must join this fight against fraud and begin prioritizing the development and implementation of new technologies to better protect consumers.”
To view EPC’s infographic on the polling, click here.
Morning Consult, on behalf of the Electronic Payments Coalition, conducted an online survey of 1,994 registered voters from April 4-6, 2018. Results from the full survey have a margin of error of +/- 2 percent.
