Whom do consumers trust with their data? US survey evidence

BIS Bulletin  |  No 42  | 
27 May 2021
by Olivier Armantier, Sebastian Doerr, Jon Frost, Andreas Fuster and Kelly Shue
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Key takeaways

  • In a recent survey, US households say they are more likely to trust traditional financial institutions than government agencies or fintechs to safeguard their personal data. They have far less trust in big techs. 

  • This pattern differs across demographic groups: respondents from racial minorities have less trust in financial institutions, while younger respondents trust fintechs relatively more. Female, minority and younger respondents are more concerned about implications of data-sharing for their personal safety.

  • A quarter of respondents say Covid-19 made them less willing to share data. In this group, nearly half became less willing to share with big techs. Concerns centred on identity theft and abuse of data.

  • As the economy becomes increasingly digital, and new players expand further into financial services, strong data protection policies will become more important to shield consumers from these harms.