trust survey online banking

Presents

Privacy Trust Survey for Online Banking©

Conducted by Ponemon Institute, LLC

Report Issued, April 5, 2005

Private & Confidential Document. Please Do Not Quote Without Express Permission.

Privacy Trust Survey for Online Banking©

Prepared by Dr. Larry Ponemon, April 5, 2005

Watchfire and Ponemon Institute are pleased to present the results of the first Privacy Trust Survey for Online Banking completed in March 2005. The summary report provides the most salient findings from a national survey that included over 2,300 adult-aged Internet users drawn from a large sampling frame that covers all major geographic regions within the United States. Executive Summary Our study reveals that customers who have a high level of trust in their bank are more likely to do a variety of their banking tasks online such as automated bill payment or applying for new products or services. The study also revealed that these customers are more likely to remain loyal to the bank they trust. The results of the study are consistent with other Ponemon Institute Privacy Trust© studies that show in a variety of industries customer trust translates to greater loyalty and less churn.1 According to the results of the 2005 Privacy Trust Survey for Online Banking, 55% of consumers with a high level of trust in their banks demonstrate their loyalty by not visiting another bank’s Website to learn about other products and services. Despite their loyalty, however, 57% of those consumers with the highest level of trust would take their business elsewhere if their primary banking institution had only one single privacy breach. Trust is becoming the vital component in customer loyalty and brand strength. Our study reveals that, even among banks with the highest level of consumer trust, it only takes one privacy breach to destroy that relationship. In other words, not only do consumers expect that their bank has safeguards and procedures in place to protect them from identity theft, but if it becomes obvious that those safeguards are not working, they will churn. The Web-based study launched in February and completed in late March asked respondents to indicate how secure and confident they feel that their primary bank is committed to protecting the privacy of personal information. More than 70% of respondents strongly agree or agree that their bank or credit union is committed to protecting their personal information. According to our results, over 71% of respondents stated that their top reason for using online banking services over conventional banking is convenience. More than 59% of respondents who use online banking services state that they have more confidence in online banking than branch banking. Combining convenience with confidence is a win-win situation for financial institutions with the potential of adding more online customers. As our study showed, a majority of respondents (53%) do bank online. Respondents were also asked to prescribe actions their bank should take to increase trust in its ability to protect personal information when banking online. These responses were rank-ordered in terms of most to least important. Following are the top three responses: 1. Set limits over the sharing of personal information with third parties. 2. Have fewer annoying or irrelevant ads or marketing promotions on the Web site (including

ads from other unrelated internet advertisers and online merchants). 3. Demonstrate good identity verification procedures with customers. Other key findings of the study are summarized as follows:

1 Ponemon, L. A., “If You Want to Reach Consumers, Think Trust.” Darwin Magazine Online, December 10, 2004.

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• While confidence in the privacy commitments of retail banks appear to be very positive, community banks appear to earn higher privacy trust scores than larger retail banks.

• Over 43% of respondents will churn after being notified only once about a privacy or data

security breach caused by the bank. About 72% will churn after being notified of two separate breaches. This data supports recent trends that a privacy or data security breach can have significant economic implications for financial institutions.

• Respondents with higher levels of confidence in the privacy commitments of their online bank

appear to be more sensitive to privacy or data security breaches. Therefore, banks that are most trusted for privacy have the most to lose in the event of a privacy incident.

• Respondents who have a very high level of confidence that their primary banking institution is

committed to protecting their personal information do more complex banking transactions and activities online than all other respondents.

• The top three banking activities consumers engage in online are: (1) viewing account

information, (2) making payments on products consumers have with the bank (such as a home mortgage) and (3) making payments to other companies. Consumers like to visit their bank’s Web site to research a product or service, apply for a product or look for a phone number, nearby branches or ATMs or other service information.

• Less popular online banking activities are making a service request or sending or reading

customer service e-mails. Only 17% would prefer viewing bank statements online without having hardcopy mailed to them.

• Banks should take note that consumers are not eager to receive e-mail communication from

their bank. Only 21% reported that e-mails from their bank is always information I want to receive or most of the time it is information I want to receive.

• More than 82% of respondents ranked identity theft as the biggest concern in the event of a

breach or violation of personal information.2 Based on Ponemon Institute Privacy Trust© studies, we have learned the practices companies should implement to create trust and confidence in the way they handle personal information. These studies have implications for online banking. The most trusted companies are more likely to offer their customers a way to file complaints and receive help in resolving privacy issues. Other key differences include having a privacy policy that is easy to access and understand, having limits over the sharing of personal information, performing customer outreach, enabling customers to opt-in or opt-out of having their personal information shared, and using privacy in product or service branding. Survey Drawing upon findings in earlier Institute studies of the retail banking industry, the purpose of this research is to advance our understanding about how consumers feel when sharing personal information online with banking institutions they regularly interact with. As in prior privacy trust studies, respondents were asked to refer to the following definitions when answering all survey questions:

2 The finding that identity theft is the most significant concern may have been fueled by a rash of media coverage about Choicepoint, Lexis/Nexis, Bank of America and others that occurred at the time of this survey.


Personal information –information about yourself and your family. This information includes name, address, telephone numbers, e-mail address, Social Security number, other personal identification numbers, access codes, age, gender, income, account activity and many other data about you.

Privacy commitment – an obligation by the bank to keep your personal information safe and secure. This includes the commitment not to share your personal information without a just cause or without obtaining your consent to do so.

The survey instrument listed major retail banking institutions in the United States selected according to approximate size (list determined by Watchfire® GómezPro). The survey also permitted respondents to write-in the name of a bank or credit union not listed on the Web form. Respondents were asked to indicate only one primary institution that they currently use for online banking, and then expressed their opinions on how secure and confident they are about this bank or credit union’s privacy commitment. Following is the adjective scale used by subjects to compile a PTS for individuated banking institutions listed within our Web form. Strongly agree that the bank is committed to protecting the privacy of my personal

information. Agree that the bank is committed to protecting the privacy of my personal information. Unsure that the bank is committed to protecting the privacy of my personal information. Disagree that the bank is committed to protecting the privacy of my personal information. Strongly disagree that the bank is committed to protecting the privacy of my personal

information. Table 1reports the frequency and percentage frequency of respondents’ responses to the question” How secure and confident are you about your bank’s commitment to protect the privacy of your personal information?” Please note that the majority of respondents (over 71%) provided trust ratings that are positive as noted by “agree” and “strongly agree” responses.

Table 1: Please select one of the five choices below to express your opinion about how secure and confident you are that your Primary Institution is committed to protecting the privacy of your personal information. Freq. Pct% I strongly agree that my bank is committed to protecting my personal information. 805 35% I agree that my bank is committed to protecting my personal information. 847 36% I am unsure that my bank is committed to protecting my personal information. 359 15% I disagree that my bank is committed to protecting my personal information. 187 8% I strongly disagree that my bank is committed to protecting my personal information. 130 6% Total: 2,328 100%

As noted above, trust scores are very high for most banking institutions, suggesting respondents generally hold a positive view of their bank’s privacy commitment. Community banks appear to achieve the highest overall privacy trust level, followed by large retail banks that were listed in the


instrument, credit unions and smaller banks that were not listed. Bar Chart 1 summarizes the average Privacy Trust Score (PTS) for four institution types in the sample.

Bar Chart 1: Average Privacy Trust Scores by Banking Institution Type

0.860.94

0.780.74

-

0.20

0.40

0.60

0.80

1.00

Large bank listed(n=1,430)

A community bank(n=513)

A credit union(n=268)

Large bank notlisted (n=117)

An average PTS score was also computed for each bank that was listed on the Web survey form, but these results are not reported.3 As a computed value, the theoretical highest PTS score is +2 and lowest possible PTS score is -2, with anchor point set at zero. The average PTS score for the entire list of institutions was .84, which is significantly higher than zero (at the p < .001 level). Table 2 and Pie Chart 1 summarize the sampling frame and response statistics for our national study. As shown, we achieved a sample size of 2,328 respondents, which represents a 17.2% response rate. All major U.S. regions are reflected in the final sample, with a slightly disproportionate response from the northeastern region. Table 2A & B: Response Statistics

Pie Chart 1: Geographic Distribution of the Sample

Sample Frame 13,553 100%Total Responses 2,616 19%Total Rejections 288 2%Sample Size 2,328 17%

U.S. Region SampleNortheast 504Mid-Atlantic 405Southeast 399West/Pacific 346Southwest 235Mid-West 439Total 2,328

3 Several of the retail banks listed did not achieve su

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22%

17%

17%15%

10%

19%

Northeast Mid-Atlantic SoutheastWest/Pacific Southwest Mid-West

fficient sub-sample size to compute PTS differences.

Express Written Permission

Table 3 panel’s A and B provides the two test questions within our Web survey used to assign respondents into online and conventional banking categories. To be included in the user group for online banking services, an individual had to respond as “Yes” to the question in either Panel A and Panel B. In total, 1,217 respondents met these criteria.

Table 3: Panel A Have you used the Web bank offering (or online banking) provided by your Primary Institution to manage checking or other deposit accounts? Freq. Pct% Yes, I currently do. 1,177 51% I have, but not lately. 288 12% I signed up to use this service, but I haven’t used it. 308 13% I have never used this service or signed up to use it. 549 24% Table 3: Panel B Have you used a bank or credit union other than your Primary Institution to manage checking or other deposit accounts? Freq. Pct% Yes, I currently do. 347 15% I have, but not lately. 298 13% I signed up to use this service, but I haven’t used it. 712 31% I never used this service or signed up to use it. 965 42%

Table 4 and Bar Chart 2 show the frequency and percentages of respondents who self-reported using online banking services. As reported, 53% of the total sample was deemed to be users of online banking services based on two test questions in the survey instrument (see Table 3). All other respondents were categorized as “other” and were automatically directed to complete the demographic section of our Web-based survey.

53%

47%

42%

45%

48%

51%

54%

Online Bankers Conventional Bankers

Bar Chart 2: Percentage of respondents who are online and conventional bank service users

Table 4: Frequency of Responses to Privacy Trust Scale Trust Scale Online Other Total Strongly Agree 513 292 805Agree 457 390 847Unsure 145 214 359Disagree 58 122 180Strongly Disagree 44 86 130Total 1,217 1,104 2,321

At first glance of frequencies in Table 4, it appears that users of online banking services differ from conventional users in terms of how they completed the adjective scale used to compile the privacy trust score. To examine these differences more closely, we compiled a proportional analysis of respondents’ response. Bar Chart 3 reports the proportions of respondent ratings on the five-point adjective scale from strongly agree (most positive trust score) to strongly disagree (most negative trust score). As shown, respondents who report being online bankers are more likely to attribute a very high trust score (i.e., strongly agree) to their bank’s privacy commitment than conventional bankers. In marked contrast, conventional bankers are more likely to attribute a low level of trust or confidence (i.e., disagree or strongly disagree) in their bank’s privacy commitments.


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The pattern of thelinked to their levedata security. Cobank’s privacy or Table 5 reports wresults for the ovegroups noted as “customers who ch704 respondents question (see det As shown, the mopayments on bancommon activitieshaving them mailethe same docume Table 5: Have yoInstitution’s Webdo any of the folPlease check allView account infMake payments with this bank, sMake payments the electric compTransfer money.Apply for a producard. Download accouMake a service rread customer sView bank statemof having them mNone of the abo

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Bar Chart 3: Proportional Analysis of Privacy Trust Responses

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54%

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31% 34%36%

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Stongly Agree Agree Unsure Disagree StronglyDisagree

Online Bankers Conventional Bankers

se results suggests that consumers’ online banking preferences are inextricably l of trust and confidence in their banking institution’s commitment to privacy and nsequently, customers who do not have a significant level of confidence in their data security practices may be less like to perform online banking.

hat respondents do when using their bank’s online services. The table reports rall group of online bankers (n=1,217). It also partitions this group into two sub-High Trust” and “Other.” The High Trust group contains 513 online banking ecked strongly agree to the privacy trust question. The Other group contains

who checked agree, unsure, disagree or strongly disagree on the privacy trust ailed breakout in Table 4).

st common activity is viewing statements online (77%), followed by making k products or services such as credit card or home mortgage (51%). The least are making a service request online or viewing statements online instead of d (i.e., it appears that most people like getting hardcopy even though they view nt online).

u used your Primary banking services to lowing activities? that apply.

OverallFreq. Pct%

High Trust Freq. Pct%

Other Freq. Pct%

ormation. 955 77% 401 78% 554 79% on products I have uch as a mortgage. 638 51% 359 70% 279 40% to others, such as to any. 395 32% 199 39% 196 28% 217 17% 112 22% 105 15% ct such as a credit

445 36% 194 38% 251 36% nt information. 420 34% 189 37% 231 33% equest or send or ervice email. 250 20% 103 20% 147 21%

ents online instead ailed to me. 216 17% 154 30% 62 9%

ve. 143 11% 68 13% 75 11%

lease Do Not Share Without Express Written Permission

What is even more interesting, are the some of marked differences between the High Trust and Other group. These differences are shown in Bar Chart 4.

-5% 0% 5% 10% 15% 20% 25% 30% 35%

Make service request

View account info

Apply for a new product

Download account info

Money transfer

Automated bill payment

Make payment to bank

Bar Chart 4: Percentage Differences between High Trust and Other

The bar chart results show that people who have very high trust in their bank’s privacy commitments are more likely to engage in certain transactions such as online payment (Diff = 30%) , automated billing payment (Diff = 11%) and account activity downloads into spreadsheets or accounting software such as Quicken and others (Diff = 5%). Table 6 panels A and B continue to explore how respondents use their online banking service provider. Panel A reports results for the subject’s primary banking institution, and panel B reports results for the subject’s secondary banking institution. Table 6: Panel A Have you used your Primary Institution’s Web site to do any of the following activities? Freq. Pct%


Other Freq. Pct%

Researched a product or service. 571 47% 233 45% 338 48% Looked for a phone number, nearby branches or ATMs, or other service information. 401 33% 158 31% 243 35% Learned about the bank itself. 415 34% 171 33% 244 35% Other. 312 25% 127 25% 185 26% Table 6: Panel B Have you used another bank’s Web site to do any of the following activities? Freq. Pct%


Other Freq. Pct%

Researched a product or service. 371 30% 155 30% 216 31% Applied for a product. 501 41% 210 41% 291 41% Looked for a phone number, nearby branches or ATMs, or other service information. 288 24% 120 23% 168 24% Learned about the bank itself. 335 27% 140 27% 195 28% Other. 135 11% 56 11% 79 11% I never visit another bank’s Web site. 489 40% 283 55% 206 29%


What is most interesting about the above analysis is the last item (highlighted in grey), showing that 55% of respondents in the High Trust group report that they never visit another competitor’s Web site, as compared to only 29% of respondents in the Other group. This marked difference of 16% may suggest that respondents within the High Trust group demonstrate a higher level of customer loyalty to their primary banking institution that other respondents. Table 7 reports why respondents use online banking services. As noted, the number one reason is convenience (71%). Again, respondents in the High Trust and Other groups differ, showing that High Trust respondents view online banking services as more private and secure (Diff = 13%), and more accurate (Diff = 3%), than other respondents. Table 7 Why do you use Web banking (please check all that apply)? Freq. Pct%


Other Freq. Pct%

Convenience 871 71% 362 71% 509 72% More accurate than other kinds of banking 235 19% 109 21% 126 18% It enables me do things I can’t do with other kinds of banking 656 54% 324 63% 332 47% More private or secure than other kinds of banking 691 56% 328 64% 363 51%

Table 8 reports how respondents feel about the security of their primary institution’s banking Web site. As shown, the vast majority of subjects (59%) are more confident or much more confident in the security of online banking services as compared to branch banking. Also, 28% of people in the High Trust state that they are much more confident as compared to 11% of subjects in the Other group with respect to the bank’s online security. Table 8 Do you believe your personal information is more secure when you bank at your Primary Institution’s branch office than if you bank online with your Primary Institution? Freq. Pct%


Other Freq. Pct%

I am much more confident in online banking than branch banking. 221 18% 142 28% 79 11% I am more confident in online banking than branch banking. 498 41% 205 40% 293 42% I am equally confident in online banking and branch banking. 312 26% 149 29% 163 23% I am less confident in online banking than branch banking. 113 9% 11 2% 102 15% I am much less confident in online banking than branch banking. 68 6% 5 1% 63 9% Total 1,212 100% 512 100% 700 100%

Table 9 shows that over 70% of respondents believe that their primary institution’s banking services would notify them of a privacy or security breach. This varies by High Trust and Other sub-groups, showing that over 88% of respondents in the High Trust group believe that such notification would occur as compared to only 57% of respondents in the Other group.


Table 9 If your Primary Institution had a privacy or security breach that resulted in the leakage of your personal information to unauthorized people or companies, do you believe it would let you know about the incident? Freq. Pct%


Other Freq. Pct%

Yes 850 70% 451 88% 399 57% No 145 12% 35 7% 110 16% Unsure 217 18% 24 5% 193 27% Total 1,212 100% 510 100% 702 100%

Table 10 reports the number of privacy or security breaches that respondents’ say would cause them to churn away from their primary institution’s online services. The table reports that 43% of respondents will churn after being notified of a privacy or data security incident only once. About 72% will churn after being notified twice (two separate breaches) and 89% will churn after three incidents (three separate breaches). In short, these data support recent trends that a privacy or data security breach can have significant economic implications for banking institutions. Table 10 How many notices of a privacy or security breach would it take before you lost confidence in your Primary Institution’s ability to keep your personal information secure? Freq. Pct%

Accum-ulated Freq.

Accum-ulated Pct%

One time is enough for me 523 43% 523 43%Two times is enough for me 343 28% 866 72%Three times is enough for me 209 17% 1075 89%Four times is enough for me 75 6% 1150 96%More than four times 54 4% 1204 100%Total 1204 100%

Bar Chart 5 recasts Table 10 results, partitioned into the High Trust and Other sub-groups. The figure shows that about 57% of respondents in the High Trust group and 33% of respondents in the Other group state that they would churn after being notified of a breach only one time. In contrast, about 18% in the High Trust group and 36% in the Other group state that they would churn after two notifications about a privacy or data security breach. Another implication of these results is that respondents with higher levels of confidence in the privacy commitments of their online banking service appear to be more sensitive to privacy or data security incidents. In comparison to all other institutions, banks “most trusted” for privacy may have the most to lose in the event of a privacy or data security breach.


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30%

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50%

60%

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Table 11 reports data security breaconventional bansuggest that they

Table 11 How would behavior chInstitution inor security bpossibly havyour personCease all oncurrent bankSwitch bankservices at tSwitch bankservices at tMake no chTotal

Once again, the t41% if people in tonline services bhigher level of cu Table 12 reports confidence in the

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Bar Chart 5: Self-report Churn for High Trust and Other Groups in the Event of Being Notified of a Privacy Breach

57%

18%

11%6% 8%

33%36%

22%

6%2%

One time Tw o times Three times Four times More thanfour

High Trust Group Other Group

the actions that respondents would take if they became victims of a privacy or ch. Notice that 34% would discontinue online banking but continue using

king services. Another 26% would switch all business to a new bank. Also, 27% would make no changes immediately.

your online banking ange if your Primary formed you that a privacy reach occurred and could e involved the leakage of al information? Freq. Pct%


Other Freq. Pct%

line services with my , but still use the bank. 408 34% 212 41% 196 28%s, and use the online he new bank. 321 26% 137 27% 184 26%s, but not use online he new bank. 156 13% 51 10% 105 15%anges immediately. 330 27% 113 22% 217 31%

1,215 100% 513 100% 702 100%

able also reflects differences between High Trust and Other group. As shown, he High Trust group versus 28% in the Other group state that they would cease ut continue using the bank. While not conclusive, this difference may reflect a stomer loyalty for individuals in the High Trust group.

the results of a forced-ranking of seven attributes that may increase trust and bank’s privacy practices.

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Table 12 How important are the following factors in increasing your trust and confidence in your Primary Institution’s ability to protect your personal information when using the Internet? Average Rank

High Trust

Average Rank

Other Trust

Average Rank The bank has limits over the sharing of personal information with third parties. 1.72 1 1.42 1 1.87 2There are fewer annoying or irrelevant ads or promotions when I visit the Web site. 1.80 2 2.00 2 1.77 1The bank has procedures in place to validate my identity when visiting the Web site. 2.27 3 2.85 4 1.99 3I will have a positive experience with customer service representatives. 2.60 4 2.19 3 2.84 4There are personalized greetings and messages on Web site. 3.01 5 3.30 5 2.82 5The bank provides instructions or messages on how to protect my privacy online. 3.17 6 3.42 7 2.99 6The privacy policy is easy to understand. 3.56 7 3.41 6 3.65 7

The above ranking procedure utilized a four-point scale (where 1=Very important, 2=Important, 3=Sometimes important, 4=Not important). Average rank results show that the factors most important to trust in the online banking environment concerns: bank’s limits over personal data sharing (average rank = 1.72), level of annoying or irrelevant Internet advertising at the bank’s Web site (average rank = 1.80), and the quality of the bank’s identity verification procedures (average rank = 2.27). The least important factor is the existence of an easy to read privacy policy (average rank = 3.56). Table 13 reports the respondents experience with receiving a fake or spoofed message as part of phishing scam. Table 13 Have you received a fake email or spoofed Web site claiming to represent your Primary Institution? Freq. Pct%


Other Freq. Pct%

Yes 541 45% 219 43% 322 46% No 411 34% 187 37% 224 32% Unsure 258 21% 101 20% 157 22% Total 1,210 100% 507 100% 703 100%

The results show that 45% recall receiving a spoofed message that claimed to be the respondent’s primary banking institution. About 21% of respondents are unsure.


Table 14 reports how respondents view marketing communication from their primary banking institution. Overall results show that the majority of respondents (over 54%) hold a negative view of their bank’s marketing communications – stating that that the advertisement or promotion is almost never information that they want to receive (25%) or spam (29%). Notice, however, that individuals in the High Trust group appear to view their bank’s marketing communication in a more positive light than respondents in the Other group. Accordingly, 21% of High Trust group state that the bank’s marketing communication is information they want to receive “most of the time.” While only 9% of respondents in the Other group chose this item. Table 14 The Primary Institution’s email and Internet marketing communication to you is (check one that best describes your belief)? Freq. Pct%


Other Freq. Pct%

Always information that I want to receive 76 6% 39 8% 37 5% Most of the time it is information I want to receive 175 14% 109 21% 66 9% On occasion it is information I want to receive 231 19% 90 18% 141 20% Almost never information I want to receive 308 25% 109 21% 199 28% Spam (unwanted e-mail communications) 349 29% 134 26% 215 31% Unsure/no comment 73 6% 30 6% 43 6% Total 1,212 100% 511 100% 701 100%

Table 15 provides additional information about the respondents’ Internet activities. It shows that the current sample uses other Internet services including the purchase of products online (81%). It also shows that respondents in the High Trust are more likely to do other financial activities such as product research for investments and retirement that the Other group (72% vs. 59%). Table 15 What other activities have you done online (please check all that apply)? Freq. Pct%


Other Freq. Pct%

Purchased from a retailer, such as a book, music or clothing. 993 81% 418 81% 575 81% Researched financial topics, such as retirement plans or a potential investment. 789 64% 368 72% 421 59% Bought or sold stocks or mutual funds. 130 11% 59 12% 71 10% Viewed a credit card statement online. 687 56% 327 64% 360 51% Prepared a tax return. 235 19% 90 18% 145 20% Booked travel, such as a flight or a hotel. 411 34% 185 36% 226 32% Bid on something in an auction. 299 24% 102 20% 197 28% Posted on a message board. 219 18% 84 16% 135 19%

Table 16 reports the approximate date that respondents started to use online banking services. As shown believe, the majority of respondents started using these banking services more than two years ago.


Table 16 In what year did you start using Web banking to manage your accounts? Freq. Pct%


Other Freq. Pct%

2005 105 9% 14 3% 91 13% 2004 267 22% 121 24% 146 21% 2003 364 30% 168 33% 196 28% 2002 280 23% 113 22% 167 24% 2001 or earlier 197 16% 94 18% 103 15% Total: 1,213 100% 510 100% 703 100%

Table 17 shows that over 80% respondents believe that privacy is important or very important to them. These results also suggest that individuals in the High Trust group are more likely to believe that the privacy of their personal information is important to them. Table 17 How important is the privacy of your personal information? Freq. Pct%


Other Freq. Pct%

The privacy of my personal information is very important to me 247 20% 117 23% 130 19% The privacy of my personal is important to me 729 60% 319 63% 410 58% The privacy of my personal information is not important to me 165 14% 51 10% 114 16% No comment 71 6% 23 5% 48 7% Total 1,212 100% 510 100% 702 100%

Table 18 reports the worries or fears that respondents may have concerning a privacy incident involving the leakage of their personal information. As shown, the number one issue concerns identity theft (82%), followed by unauthorized access to bank accounts (55%). Table 18 What worries you most if the privacy or security of your personal information was violated or breached? Freq. Pct%


Other Freq. Pct%

Identity theft 998 82% 428 83% 570 80% Unauthorized access to your bank accounts 678 55% 267 52% 411 58% Telemarketing abuse 456 37% 174 34% 282 40% Unwanted e-mail activity (spam) 354 29% 143 28% 211 30% Loss of civil liberties 254 21% 104 20% 150 21% Revelation of private information or secrets 234 19% 89 17% 145 20% Unwanted junk mail 109 9% 46 9% 63 9%


Following are the demographics collected from all survey respondents in this national study. Please note that additional analysis has been conducted to determine if certain demographic variables are correlated to the survey responses for the online banking sub-sample (n=1,217). These additional results are available upon request.

What best describes your role in day to day financial management within your household? Freq. Pct% Primary decision maker 1244 54%Secondary decision maker 342 15%Influencer of decisions 680 29%I have no role 53 2%Total 2,319 100%

What is the size of your household? Freq. Pct% 1 person 488 21%2 people 455 20%3 people 485 21%4 or more people 871 38%Total 2,299 100%

Approximately, when did you start using the Internet or doing e-mail? Freq. Pct% In 2005 25 1%In 2004 278 12%In 2003 460 20%In 2002 477 21%In 2001 334 14%In 2000 418 18%In 1999 167 7%In 1998 or earlier 153 7%Total 2,312 100%

How many hours each week do you spend using the Web or doing e-mail? Freq. Pct% 1 hour or less 37 2%1-2 hours 46 2%2-5 hours 199 9%5-10 hours 674 29%10-20 hours 661 28%More than 20 hours 703 30%Total 2,320 100%

Respondent’s age range Freq. Pct% Age 18 to 25 418 18%Age 26 to 35 549 24%Age 36 to 45 544 24%Age 46 to 55 345 15%Age 56 to 65 253 11%Age 66 to 75 150 7%Age > 75 47 2%Total 2,306 100%

Income range Freq. Pct% Income < 20k 89 4%Income 20k to 40k 301 13%Income 41k to 60k 700 30%Income 61k to 80k 588 26%Income 81k to 100k 329 14%Income 101k to 150k 119 5%Income 151k to 200k 60 3%Income > 200k 117 5%Total 2,303 100%

Highest level of education Freq. Pct% High School 518 22%Vocational 423 18%College (4 yr) 871 38%Post Graduate 406 18%Doctorate 88 4%Average 2,306 100%

Gender Freq. Pct% Female 1202 52%Male 1116 48%Total 2,318 100%


The 2005 Privacy Trust Survey for Online Banking was sponsored by Watchfire. All research was independently collected and analyzed by Ponemon Institute, LLC.

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