RESTON, Va.—Two-thirds of consumers are concerned about the security of their debit and credit cards, according to a new survey from Transaction Network Services.
The percentage of people concerned grew with age: 59% of 18-24 year olds, 68% of 35-44 year olds, and 73% of 55+ year olds.
TNS surveyed over 1,000 people in three countries: the United States, the United Kingdom and Australia. Thirty-eight percent of total consumers said they believed their information had been put at risk because of data breaches, even if they were not directly involved with the breach. Participants in the United States felt more strongly, with 46% saying their data was at risk. Australia and U.K. were at 33% and 34%, respectively.
“Surprisingly, consumers believe it is the responsibility of the retailer, not the bank, to protect payment card data,” said Bill Hardekopf, CEO of LowCards.com, in response to the released data. “Sixty-six percent of U.S. shoppers and 62% of global shoppers held retailers accountable for protecting card information. Eighty-two percent of respondents said banks and retailers should be doing more to safeguard their card numbers and account details.”
Despite the strong concern for data security, the number of consumers who reported unauthorized card activity has decreased over the last two years. In 2015, 32% of U.S. respondents said their card had been used fraudulently in the past two years, compared to 23% in 2017, the study shows.
“Many credit card companies are working on ways to encrypt card information, such as Visa and MasterCard's tokenization systems,” said Hardekopf. “Seventy-six percent of U.S. consumers and 74% of global consumers believe encryption is a secure way to protect card data.”