Data Security Now the Top New Zealand Consumer Priority When Choosing a Bank - New Unisys Research Finds
New Zealanders trust banks more than twice as much as the government with their personal data – Unisys Asia Pacific
Banking Insights study
Wellington, 9 April 2019 – New research from Unisys Corporation (NYSE: UIS) reveals New Zealand bank customers rank data security as the issue that matters to them most about their
bank – underscoring the importance of data security as banks prepare to work with third-parties to roll out new services
in an Open Banking environment.
The 2019 Asia Pacific Banking Insights: Trusting in the Banking Experience is a study of the attitudes of banking customers in New Zealand, Australia, Hong Kong, the Philippines and Taiwan. This
year’s report identifies which bank attributes matter most to consumers and explores the delicate relationship between
security, convenience and trust in financial institutions.
The majority of New Zealanders (57 percent) cite the security and safety of customer data as the thing that matters to
them most when engaging with a bank. More than half (54 percent) rank fast and efficient service as a priority, while 45
percent cite transparency.
“In November, the Financial Markets Authority and Reserve Bank cleared New Zealand banks of the widespread abuses of
customers identified in the Australian Royal Commission into Misconduct in the Banking, Superannuation and Financial
Services Industry. However the FMA/RBNZ found New Zealand banks were error-prone and some used sales incentives which
worked against customers' interests,” says Ian Selbie, industry director Financial Services, Unisys Asia Pacific.
Of the five countries surveyed, New Zealand bank consumers have the second highest level of trust in banks to protect
customer data with 41 percent of respondents citing banks as the organisation they most trust to share personal data
with, but the lowest level of trust in government (17 percent). Young people aged 18-24 is the age group with the
highest trust in banks (52 percent), but the lowest trust in government (17 percent).
“Open Banking creates a significant shift in several elements of the security and risk landscape. However, the potential
benefits of Open Banking include improved customer experience and new revenue streams in a sustainable service model.
This research shows that New Zealand banks currently enjoy a high level of customer trust, but as security is such a
priority for customers banks will need to keep that trust by visibly enhancing their security, compliance and ethical
standards,” explains Selbie.
New Zealanders are increasingly frustrated by inefficient bank interactions and not being able to fully complete
transactions online. They rank having to repeat themselves to different consultants or bank channels as the most
annoying thing about their bank with 32 percent annoyed by this issue – up from 24 percent in 2018. And have the
region’s highest level of frustration with online services that require a visit to a branch or printing a form (19
percent of respondents – up from 12 percent from the previous year). And those aged 18-34 are almost twice as annoyed by
this as older New Zealanders.
“While New Zealand banks provide a good digital experience, they still fail to provide a true omnichannel experience
across all touch points. And younger Kiwis, the growing segment of their customer base, expect online services to be a
complete and consistent end-to-end service,” Selbie says.
The vast majority of New Zealanders are comfortable using voice, face or fingerprint recognition to access mobile
banking apps (57 percent) or facial or fingerprint recognition at an ATM (67 percent). Slightly fewer (60 percent) are
comfortable using voice recognition when calling the bank’s call centre. However, they are yet to embrace behavioural
biometrics with only 32 percent comfortable with a bank tracking the unique way a person scrolls through websites, types
on a phone or presses buttons, to verify identity. Of those who don’t support using biometrics in banking, most say they
are ‘just not comfortable’ (40 percent) or are concerned about data security (35 percent).
For more information, download the full Asia Pacific Banking Insights survey report or infographic visit: www.unisys.com/BankingInsightsAPAC.
More than 450 financial institutions worldwide rely on Unisys solutions. Elevate™ is an end-to-end, digital banking software platform and suite of applications designed to help financial institutions
deliver an instantly secure, omnichannel banking experience to their customers. Elevate is secured with Unisys’ Stealth®, an identity-based micro-segmentation security software that allows banks to microsegment and conceal critical assets
and establish encrypted channels for secure user, application and system communication. For more information on Unisys’
financial services capabilities, please visit http://www.unisys.com/industries/financial-services
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