How banks handle defrauded customers can make or break account retention

The news: Over one in four US consumers are willing to change their banks if they are not pleased with how they handle fraud cases, per a survey from FICO.

More on this: This finding contrasts with 72% of respondents saying that their own banks are doing enough to keep their funds safe, with just 16% saying that they are not.

A large portion of respondents, at 46%, said they have previously been victimized by fraud, FICO noted.

• Consumers ranked identities being stolen and used for account openings as their top concern, at 28%.
• Account takeover fraud, which entails exploitations of authentication steps, came in second at 26%.
• Card fraud placed third, at 22%.

FICO cautioned that banks need to balance the need for security with the user experience, as it found that respondents don’t want to deal with anti-fraud measures that will add too much friction to making a purchase.

The big takeaway: With over one in four consumers in the FICO survey saying they would dump their bank if they're displeased with its response to fraud, banks that don’t take strong anti-fraud steps—including a carefully crafted customer communication plan—risk eroding trust and losing business.

Digital trust is crucial to customer retention and engagement, per our 2021 Banking Digital Trust Report.

• Our respondents who reported above-average digital trust were more likely to say they would open their next account or product with them, at 38.8%, than those with below-average digital trust, at 21.3%.
• The above-average cohort was also more likely to report having multiple accounts at their bank, at 37.1%, versus the below-average cohort, at 28.3%.