Scam Survey: UK Consumers Lack Confidence in Real-Time Payments Security

FICO’s latest research highlights the need for financial institutions to effectively communicate security measures for wider adoption of RTP

LONDON--(BUSINESS WIRE)--An international survey on the uptake, trust, and future of real-time payments (RTP) from global analytics software leader FICO highlights the need for UK banks to focus on building confidence in the security of the payment method. While three quarters of consumers in the UK say they have sent (79%) and received (73%) RTP, nearly a quarter (23%) say they do not know if RTP processes include enough security checks.

More information: https://www.fico.com/en/latest-thinking/ebook/2024-scams-impact-survey-uk

Key Findings

• Nearly a quarter (23%) of UK consumers do not know if RTP processes include enough security checks
• UK usage of RTP is lower than the global average — 79% of UK consumers have sent RTP while 73% have received RTP, compared to 91% and 89% average for all 14 countries surveyed
• Just 16% of respondents have sent RTP from a business to a person, compared to the global average of 31%

FICO’s survey of 12,000 individuals across 14 countries revealed 59% of UK consumers will maintain their RTP usage while 28% have plans to increase. However, with only 35% considering RTP to be more secure than a credit card, there is clearly work to be done to build consumer confidence.

“While there remains some slight uncertainty in the UK market around RTP security, it is clear to us that, based on global and local consumer trends, banks should expect usage to continue to increase and diversify,” said James Roche, principal fraud consultant for FICO in EMEA.

“At the same time, however, there needs to be more education around the benefits of RTP, how they counterbalance fraud checks and regulatory changes. This presents an opportunity for banks to communicate risks and warnings to their customers while providing a strong scam defence.”

Increased Education Should Lead to Further Adoption

FICO’s survey of RTP use also looked at global opinions comparing the payment method to other forms of transactions. More than a third (35%) of UK consumers consider RTP to be more secure than a credit card, well below the global average of 51%, while 49% view the two payment methods as safe as each other. Just 6% of UK consumers consider RTP less secure than a credit card.

“There is plenty of room for RTP use to grow in the UK market and banks can expect to see an accelerated rate of adoption when they explain the benefits of the payment method to their customers,” added Roche. “As the UK RTP volume increases and begins to match global averages, there will, however, be a rise in scam threat.”

Banks that use scam protection technology will put themselves and their customers in the best position to protect their finances. Additionally, they need to be flexible and customer-focused in their use of communication channels. As RTP usage continues to grow, consumers expect their banks to equip them with the tools, education, and automated fail-safes to help prevent scam losses.

“One of the most fundamental ways banks can build consumer confidence and help to prevent losses is by knowing what method of communication their customers prefer,” Roche said. “More UK consumers prefer to receive sensitive communications through their bank’s app than any other method (37%). As banking apps provide a much more secure channel for communications and transactions than text messages or emails, they can be a key channel for banks to help improve consumer confidence and fight scams.

“But no one channel is right for every customer, and banks should be able to select the most effective channel for each person to ensure UK consumers are getting the most out of RTP.”

A new solution from FICO and Jersey Telecom (JT) received the Anti-Fraud Solution award at the Credit & Collections Technology Awards in November 2024. The FICO^® Customer Communications Service Scam Signal uses telephony signals to detect potential scams.

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. Learn more at www.fico.com.

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