Mumbai: Even as cases of financial fraud are dotting cyber space across the world, Indians seem more forthcoming in giving out their personal information for personalised services and simplification of finance management than their global counterparts, a study by Cisco has said.
According to the Cisco report, 72 per cent of respondents from India said they would provide more personal information to simplify management of finances compared to 56 per cent participants agreeing globally.
The study, conducted in early 2013, aimed at finding out how and when consumers want to engage with their banks across multiple channels for activities ranging from account monitoring to acquiring financial advice.
The survey included 1,514 consumers and 405 bank professionals across 10 countries - Brazil, Canada, China, France, Germany, India, Japan, Russia, the UK and the US.
However, Indian respondents are also concerned about security of their accounts, as 92 per cent of them indicated they wanted fool-proof security against identity theft as part of more personalised financial services.
About 95 per cent said they wanted advice to increase their savings, 89 per cent requested more financial education, and 72 per cent wanted an assessment of their financial status as compared to other clients as part of the personalised offerings.
"Technology is driving all sectors including banking and financial services. As indicated by our findings, consumers today are willing to exchange private information for more personalised services," Cisco Director (Business Development) Shashank Luthra told reporters. However, the crucial factor here will be to offer these services in a secure environment to ensure that customer gets the best service without any of his personal data being compromised with, he added.
Recently, security breaches at two Indian payment card processing companies in a USD 45-million global ATM heist sent ripples through the IT security world. Indians also seem more comfortable in using technology for online transactions, said the report.
About 72 per cent respondents from India said they would be comfortable entirely securing a loan or mortgage using technology like video to communicate with their bank compared to 57 per cent global respondents.
Also, 71 per cent Indian consumers are willing to open an account with a bank that is completely virtual if it offered the best and more secure services compared to 60 per cent of consumers globally who would open accounts with virtual banks, the study revealed.
"Today, virtual channels are expanding beyond transactions to high-touch interactions and future banking will combine high-tech and high-touch across all delivery channels," Luthra said.
Banks need to invest in technology that will not only ease the process of transacting and delivering financial information online in a secure environment, he added.
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