While 15% of U.S. consumers spotted fraudulent activity on their accounts last year, 85% said they were satisfied with how their credit union or bank handled the incident, according to a new survey commissioned by the Ottawa, Canada-based March Networks.
The online survey of 1,000 credit union and bank consumers also found that 60% of consumers noticed a fraudulent transaction before their financial institution. This may open an opportunity for credit unions and banks to be more proactive when it comes to identifying and notifying their members and customers about potential fraud, according to March Networks, a provider of intelligent IP video solutions.
The Canadian company with offices in Atlanta said it commissioned market research firm Ipsos to conduct the survey to find out how fraud, customer service and security perceptions are influencing U.S. banking consumer decisions.
Survey results also revealed a continued focus on customer experience, particularly at the branch, remains critical for credit unions and banks. Seventy-three percent of the survey's respondents and 66% of millennials said they go to their local branch or ATM to conduct some transactions every year.
One in five of the survey's respondents and one in four millennials said they switched financial institutions in the past because of poor branch service.
Although 48% of American consumers surveyed said waiting more than five minutes for service at the branch is unreasonable, 60% said they didn't mind how long it took to complete a transaction once they were with a teller, according to the survey.
While poor service at the branch was the top reason consumers switched to a new financial institution, other drivers included the closure of the branch nearest to them (14%), fraudulent bank account activity (9%) and safety concerns (9%), the survey said.
In addition, banking choices are influenced by how secure consumers feel when conducting transactions, either in their local branch, at an ATM or online.
An overwhelming majority of consumers (98%) felt most secure when conducting transactions at their local branch, compared with 92% when conducting transactions online and 85% using a mobile phone app, the survey said.
What's more, 90% of consumers said they feel safer when they can see video surveillance cameras in their bank or credit union and would choose a financial institution with surveillance over one without it.
The random survey's margin of error was plus/minus 3%, according to March Networks.
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