Trusting Your Bank in a Digitally Connected World: An Investigation into Perceptions of Privacy by Bank Customers

Abstract

People are placing more of their personal information online as the use of online social networking sites (OSNs) grows. Individuals often lack an awareness around the privacy implications of placing their personal information on these sites but still have an expectation of privacy about this information that may not entirely be justified. OSN data is often used for purposes other than those for which it was provided, but customer demand for ethical and compassionate use of their data is growing. Customers expect greater corporate social responsibility from companies, and especially banks, after the recent global financial crisis. Customers may perceive the use of OSN data by New Zealand banks to influence their lending decisions as a privacy violation. This study is intended to evaluate whether this use of OSN data would be perceived by customers to be a violation of their privacy. The research was carried out through a web-based survey and follow-up interviews with selected respondents. It was found that the less aware that respondents were about OSN privacy policies, the greater their expectation of privacy. The research also highlighted that even respondents who did not expect their data to remain private still had an expectation of privacy. A lack of perceived control was found to be associated with a greater expectation of a privacy invasion. Trust in respondents' banks was associated with a negative perception of those banks' use of OSN data for lending decisions. This study has revealed a high likelihood that a perception of betrayal coupled with a perceived privacy violation would take place should New Zealand Banks use OSN data in this manner.