New FICO Survey: 69% of Canadian Consumers Want Banks to Protect Against Scams During Real-Time Payment Transactions

Survey showcases how banks can address consumer expectations with better fraud detection systems, real-time communications, and personalized customer experience

TORONTO--(BUSINESS WIRE)--FICO (NYSE: FICO)

Highlights:

• A new FICO survey finds that the majority (91%) of Canadian consumers have sent real-time payments (RTP) and 87% will maintain or increase use in the next 12 months.
• 69% of consumers say they would feel positive about their banks if they proactively stopped RTP transactions that had been detected and identified as scams.
• 48% of consumers ranked “have better fraud detection systems” as the most impactful action their bank could take to help protect against scams.

Global analytics software leader FICO released a new survey on consumers’ increased use of real-time-payments (RTP) equating to a higher number of reported scams threats and an increase in fraud losses. The 2024 Scams Impact Survey: Canada shows that with the increase in RTP, there have been increased scam attempts and financial losses. To keep consumers feeling protected and confident, banks must remain competitive in detecting fraud and while also providing consumers with personalized customer experiences.

“FICO found that 83% of Canadians have received a text, email, or phone call they thought was part of a scam, while 44% say their family or friends have been victims of a scam, a 5% increase from 2023,” said Debbie Cobb, vice president of fraud product management at FICO. “Canadian consumers are also asking for banks to improve fraud detection and provide more warnings and communications about scams during the payment process. Banks can improve their customer experiences by leveraging fraud detection technology that outsmarts scammers and educating consumers on how to better protect themselves.”

Canadians are being increasingly targeted by scammers

6% of Canadians who reported being a victim of a scam faced losses of more than C$10,000, six times the number of such cases in 2023.

But Canadians are not alone; the survey shows that more consumers globally in 2024 reported that their family and friends have been victims of RTP scams than in 2023. Across the world, North American countries reported 47% of family and friends being scammed, Latin America countries reported significantly higher at 69%, European countries reported at 48%, and Asia-Pacific countries reported 56%.

Canadians want banks to flag suspicious RTP transactions

The survey shows 91% of Canadians have used RTP and 87% will maintain or increase use in the next 12 months. With this increase in usage, most consumers (69%) said they would feel positive about their banks if they declined a payment that had been identified as part of a scam, leading to increased customer retention and loyalty.

Almost half (48%) of Canadian consumers say deploying better fraud detection systems is the top action their bank can take to protect them from scams. 18% say providing more alerts about known or emerging RTP scams is most impactful. Another 12% say declining payments the bank has defined as “high risk” is most impactful.

Banks who fail to prevent scams face consequences with regards to customer churn; 12% of Canadians and 13% of consumers globally say they would change banks if unhappy with how their bank manages the experience around scams.

For banks, transactional monitoring models with built-in scam and fraud scores can help prevent fraud impacts. As consumers continue to embrace RTP, it is essential for banks to give consumers the best experience with the least potential impact from fraud.

FICO’s Global Scams Impact Survey showcases findings and trends from tens of thousands of consumers across the globe – including 1,000 Canadians. The responses, trends, and additional analysis of these datasets are provided in the report.

Over 4 billion accounts have been protected by FICO fraud solutions, and more than 180 trillion transactions have been protected by FICO fraud solutions each year. For more information on FICO fraud solutions, visit https://www.fico.com/en/solutions/fraud-protection-and-compliance.

About FICO

FICO (NYSE: FICO) powers decisions that help people and businesses around the world prosper. Founded in 1956, the company is a pioneer in the use of predictive analytics and data science to improve operational decisions. FICO holds more than 200 US and foreign patents on technologies that increase profitability, customer satisfaction and growth for businesses in financial services, insurance, telecommunications, health care, retail and many other industries. Using FICO solutions, businesses in more than 80 countries do everything from protecting 4 billion payment cards from fraud, to improving financial inclusion, to increasing supply chain resiliency. The FICO® Score, used by 90% of top US lenders, is the standard measure of consumer credit risk in the US and has been made available in over 40 other countries, improving risk management, credit access and transparency.

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