Trust in digital services relatively low in Asia Pacific

Covering ten markets across APAC, the report surveyed 3,200 consumers and over 80 organisations from the Financial Services, Telecommunications and Retail sectors (collectively referred to as Service Providers). Countries surveyed include Australia, China, Hong Kong, India, Indonesia, Japan, New Zealand, Singapore, Thailand and Vietnam.

The region on a whole only scored 3.2 out of 10.0, with Telcos holding the lowest score of 2.1 and Financial Services having the highest at 4.9. The high levels of fraud, which the study anticipates will only increase as adoption of digital services increases, is having a negative effect on consumer trust. One in five people have encountered fraud directly, while one in three people or their close friends and relatives have been affected.

While the companies surveyed indicated they are confident in their ability to combat fraud and provide a better customer experience when fraud does occur, this did not translate to consumer perceptions. Countries like Singapore and Hong Kong lag due to a low tolerance for fraud and perceptions that companies are not managing the post-fraud experience well. This low tolerance to fraud is reflected in many advanced economies, while there is a greater acceptance of it in countries where fraud incidents are the most prevalent. Retail, particularly ecommerce, tend to do better in this aspect, due to their focus on the post-fraud customer experience and their ability to quickly address issues arising from fraud.

Online fraud and identity theft are major concerns for service providers in the region. Companies are turning to new technologies to help protect themselves and their customers, but often not in an integrated way.

To increase customer trust in digital services, the Digital Trust Index identifies three key gaps that service providers must address to strengthen trust between themselves and their customers: the rise in digital transactions, the race for convenience and the evolving fraud.