7 in 10 US credit card holders think retailers need to boost security

According to a report commissioned by Ipsos Public Affairs on behalf of the American Bankers Association, 7 in 10 (70%) card holders surveyed agree that retailers should install new card readers that support this technology as soon as possible.

When it comes to cards using the latest technology, more than three quarters (78%) of those who use credit cards said it is important for card security to feature dynamic technologies that change information for every transaction. Meanwhile, less than one in ten (7%) say the opposite, while 14% are unsure about the importance of such new ‘dynamic’ technologies.

With the move to chip technology, however, seven in ten (69%) express confidence that their personal data is safer than ever before, even without the use of a PIN. Nearly all respondents surveyed feel that it is important for retailers to upgrade their security controls to better secure customer data (94%). Furthermore, two thirds (67%) believe that retailers should not store customers’ personal financial data, compared to only 16% who think they should. Additionally, more than three quarters (78%) agree that the government should hold retailers, banks, and other companies involved in the payments system to the same security standards.

The study reveals that in cases of fraud, 81% of credit card holders place a great deal/quite a bit of value on zero-liability policies, in which the cardholder is not held liable for fraudulent charges on their card. Data shows that about 9 in 10 credit card holders (88%) believe it is important for credit card companies to prioritize new technologies like tokenization to stay ahead of criminal efforts. Also, despite some retailers not having implemented more secure tokenization-based systems, another eight in ten credit card holders (79%) also feel it is important for retailers to prioritize new technologies like tokenization to stay ahead of ever-changing criminal efforts.

On the other hand, about one in seven each feel most vulnerable to fraud when it comes to theft of a physical credit or debit card (16%) or ‘phishing’ scams where emails or websites trick consumers into giving over their financial data online (13%).Very few (6%) say that they do not feel vulnerable to fraud in any of these ways.