Skimming and data breaches and the resulting theft for funds or identity are becoming a fact of life for more consumers. How consumers react has been a widening area of study, as outlined in the article. In cases where the information was stolen from a financial institution, there appears to a be a remarkable correlation with those affected moving to another institution.
Of course, changing banks doesn’t necessarily make someone’s money more secure. Financial institutions closely guard information related to their security defenses. It can be difficult even for experts to gauge from the outside how well an institution is defended, and lapses in policies or procedures from the inside are opaque.
Mercator Advisory Group recognizes the decision to change institutions after instances of data being stolen is not categorically a rational one. Financial institutions must take exceptional care to rebuild the sense of trust and security for consumers affected by the data security breach. Providing assurances of redoubled efforts and complimentary credit monitoring is the tried and true response. No institution will remain above data hacking efforts, but delivering an informed and personalized response to consumers affected will go a long way in re-establishing a trusted relationship and keeping the customer.
Overview by Joseph Walent, Associate Director, Customer Interactions Advisory Service at Mercator Advisory Group
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