News

Half of Internet users feel safer banking at branch than online

If they're among the 20 percent of users who do nothing to protect their financial data online, they're probably right.

June 26, 2015

According to asurveyby Kaspersky Lab and B2B International, half (46 percent) of Internet users believe that traditional over-the-counter banking is safer than banking online. Nevertheless, most people still make some payments online and many of them fail to take even basic security precautions, putting their money and their bank's reputation at risk, a Kaspersky press release said.

"If customers choose traditional over-the-counter banking from fear of falling victim to Internet fraud, it will hamper the adoption of high-margin online and mobile payment systems," said Ross Hogan, global head of the fraud prevention division at Kaspersky. "This will force banks to invest more of their resources in low margin branches instead."

The survey revealed that a significant number of users (49 percent) feel vulnerable when making financial transactions online. Moreover, half (54 percent) reported they believe making payments offline is more reliable than online and 46 percent agreed that offline banking is safer than online banking.

And yet:

• 79 percent of those surveyed use their desktops or laptops for online payments;
• 52 percent use their tablets;
• 5 percent use their smartphones; and
• 12 percent of Smart-TV owners use their Smart-TV.

At the same time, the survey found, one in five users does nothing to protect his or her financial data online.

"[A]mong those who have adopted online and mobile payments, there is a persistent security concern as they may be putting their money — and the bank's reputation — at unnecessary risk," Hogan said. "That is why today it is vital that banks invest in technology ensuring a secure banking environment for their customers. This approach will not only reassure customers who prefer in-branch banking that online and mobile banking is secure, it will also reduce the risk for careless customers, who might otherwise lose important financial data."