One-Half (50%) Of Canadians Using Debit and Credit Cards Are
Concerned About Debit Card Information Being Intercepted. And
One-half (52%) Are Concerned About Credit Card Information Intercepts
A new Ipsos-Reid poll released this month finds one-half (50%)
of Canadian adults who use both debit cards and credit cards
to make purchases are concerned (either “very” or
“somewhat”) about information being intercepted in
transit while they are making purchases via a debit card. Further,
52% of the same people polled express concern about credit card
information being intercepted at the point of sale.
Not
only is there concern about the potential for information
theft at the time of purchase, but a majority of these card
users are worried about databases housing card information
after the purchase transaction. Over half (54%) state a level
of concern about databases housing debit card information,
with 58% citing these type of concerns about credit card information.
Yet,
at the same time, the Canadians polled are generally confident
the Canadian financial services industry can ensure the security
and privacy of electronic transfers of information and transactions.
In this poll, 65% of those with online access say they are
“very” or “somewhat” confident in Canadian
financial services providers to safeguard their information.
These
findings suggest that, to the extent there are concerns about
identity theft and fraudulent use of cards, Canadians are
more likely to have issues with companies accepting cards
rather than companies issuing the cards. Retailers and other
service providers offering the convenience of debit card and
credit card transactions may not have the complete confidence
of customers when it comes to financial transaction security.
It
is worth noting that around the time this survey was conducted
there were news reports about cases of identity theft in Canada
and elsewhere. These stories may have sensitized Canadians
to the issue of identify theft and fraud.
To
find out more, use
this link to the Angus Reid website.
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