News

Survey: FIs must quickly respond to card fraud to retain loyalty

September 15, 2009

ACI Worldwide Inc. has released findings from a global consumer fraud survey that highlight fraud areas financial institutions should be focused on.

According to a news release issued by ACI about the survey, the most important factor to ensure customers/members were happy with their FIs after being hit by fraud was related to how quickly stolen money was reimbursed. Fewer than one third said they also judged their FI by how quickly the customer service department identified a fraudulent transaction. For a quarter of respondents, it was most important that the FI identified the fraud before they did.

The post-fraud service offered by FIs is crucial, ACI says, in keeping customers and members happy and preventing attrition. Overall, 74 percent of respondents were happy with the treatment they received from their FIs after being victims of card fraud. But with 26 percent reporting they were somewhat unhappy or very unhappy, there is still more FIs can do to ensure customer satisfaction following a fraud incident.

Survey-takers in Dubai were the least satisfied, with only 16 percent of respondents saying they were "very happy" with how their bank handled fraudulent attacks on their credit or debit cards. U.K. customers are the most satisfied, with 62 percent saying they were "very happy" with the treatment received. Banks in the United States and Singapore also fared reasonably well, with 55 percent and 40 percent of respondents, respectively, saying they were happy with the post-fraud service offered by their FIs.

Regional variations make a difference as well, ACI says:

In Singapore, for example, consumers felt the speed at which their bank identified the fraud far outweighed the importance of the speed of reimbursement at 45 percent versus 15 percent of respondents. It also seems that Singaporean banks are good at spotting fraudulent transactions first, as only 16 percent of respondents had noticed a fraud before their bank had notified them about it, compared to 21 percent in the U.K. and USA.