Editor's note:David Britton is Vice President of Global Fraud and Identity Solutions at Experian. This article reflects the author's personal views only.

The digital environment is inherently anonymous—not by design, but by its very nature. The digital transformation of the past 25 years has been driven on one side by enterprises' growing desire to leverage digital channels for growth optimization, and on the other by equally determined fraudsters challenging security. Without security and trust, all efforts to leverage digital channels for enterprise efficiency or consumer convenience will be in vain.

Trust should not be taken for granted or assumed. Whether consumers are willing to share personal information for a perceived benefit—such as security, convenience, or personalization—often reflects their level of trust in a business. According to Experian's2019 Global Identity and Fraud Report, approximately 60% of consumers worldwide are aware of the risks of sharing personal information online with banks and retailers, while over 70% say they would be willing to share more information if they received a perceived benefit. Therefore, transparency—especially demonstrating how consumer information is used to protect them and create a better overall experience—is crucial to building this trust relationship.

Trust in banks

No industry excels at building digital trust, but consumers view banks as doing the best among many sectors. Banks are trusted because of their security image. Banks cultivate this image by requiring users to go through identity verification and registration processes. Consumers tend to believe banks invest more in security than other industries—which makes sense when it comes to protecting money. If we trust banks to safeguard our funds, it's natural to believe they are also good at ensuring security.

Banks are also trusted because of interaction frequency. Think about how many times a week you check your bank account, whether to pay bills or check balances. This frequent checking creates a higher level of familiarity for customers. People are often creatures of habit, and familiarity breeds comfort.

Beyond perception, familiarity, and frequency, banks can do more to continuously cultivate trust. Customers demand convenience and security. Banks typically excel at running robust security processes, protecting customer interests, and handling customer support, but they also need to consider other ways to build lasting connections with customers.

Keeping customers safe

Look at Amazon and Netflix, which have created effortless user experiences by demonstrating they understand customer identity and preferences. If banks could more intelligently use the customer data they already possess, they could enhance identification capabilities, deepen relationships, and further win consumer goodwill.

Although banking leads other markets, it must remember that switching service providers is becoming increasingly easy for consumers, so banks should further elevate their trust position. Building relationships with customers and ensuring trust is not broken becomes especially critical. Banks can build better customer relationships by being consistently transparent about how personal information is protected and used.

According to a recent Experian report, 76% of consumers trust companies that give them control over how their personal information is used—including controlling how much information they provide, with whom it is shared, and clearly understanding the pros and cons of sharing more (or less) information. Banks should also provide reliable, feature-rich, and secure customer interaction channels, which will give them a friendlier, more human touch.

Consumer trust is hard to earn but easy to lose, so businesses must place trust in a virtuous cycle—where accurate identification, transparency, consumer confidence, and positive engagement are the drivers, ultimately leading to greater trust and deeper mutual relationships.