Study: Most consumers believe their payment data is at risk

Consumers across the globe agree that the volume of criminals trying to steal their credit and debit card data is increasing — and retailers aren’t equipped to fight back.



This was according to “Consumer Payment Card Data Security Perceptions, from Transaction Network Services (TNS). The study interviewed 1,037 U.S. adults, 1,002 Australian adults, and 1,010 U.K. adults between May 4-8.



Eighty five percent of adults in the United States, United Kingdom and Australia believe there are more cyber-criminals just waiting to grab their payment card data. More than two-thirds are concerned about the security of their payment card data, and 38% feel their private credit or debit card data has been put at risk by a data breach, irrelevant of whether they subsequently were a victim of fraud.



“While the payments industry has made significant advances in protection in recent years, criminals continue to find increasingly sophisticated ways to target valuable payment card data,” said Lisa Shipley, executive VP and managing director of TNS’ Payment Network Solutions. “One in five respondents in our survey confirmed their credit or debit card data had been used fraudulently in the last two years, so this highlights that we must continue to drive forward with new security measures.”



One of these solutions is encryption. A majority of consumers are in favor of the security measure, with 74% saying they believe this would securely protect their personal data.



“Our survey unveils high levels of concern about the security of payment card data and strong feelings among consumers that banks, retailers and other organizations involved in the payment card industry need to do more to protect their personal data,” Shipley added.