Honeywell survey: Consumers very worried about credit card security

Fort Mill, S.C. -- The security of credit and debit card information is a bigger concern for consumers (93%) than their health (84%), retirement savings (81%) or losing their cell phone (63%), according to a new consumer trust survey from Honeywell.



The survey, conducted by KRC Research, revealed that consumers have widespread awareness of and concern regarding recent data breaches at major retailers. Ninety percent of respondents have heard about recent credit or debit card breaches at major retailers, and more than one-fifth of respondents stated they do not feel secure when paying with debit cards at retail establishments.

“When consumers are more worried about the security of their credit and debit card information than their health or retirement savings, it shows an erosion of trust and a growing consumer fear when handing over their personal data to retailers,” said Bob Grabowski, vertical marketing leader for retail, Honeywell Scanning & Mobility. “Consumers are clearly stating that there must be an immediate shift for retailers to proactively use the most advanced technologies available to ensure the safety of their information at all times.”



Survey results show that consumers are wary of existing data security practices and think that retailers should be doing more to protect their data. In fact, consumers said they are willing to change their shopping behavior to safeguard their data if they personally suffered from a data breach.



In key findings:

• Seventy-six percent of consumers surveyed would forego credit and debit transactions and 38% said they would entirely avoid a particular retailer if they personally suffered from a data breach.

• Eighty-one percent of respondents would be angry to learn that their favorite national retailer was not already using the best available technology to protect consumer information.

• Nine-in-10 consumers found retailers encrypting data to be a more appealing service for protecting their personal financial data than store-offered fraud and identity theft protection services (73%) or those services offered by a third party (61%).

• Eighty-two percent report a willingness to shop more frequently at stores that leverage point-to-point encryption technology

• Ninety-three percent of respondents support government-mandated security safety requirements.