Consumers are becoming increasingly aware that when they willingly share their personally identifiable information, vigilance and care is required to protect their data, one expert recently shared.
Eric Schurr, chief strategy officer for the Des Moines, Iowa-based credit card agent-issuer and advisory services firm TMG Financial Services, offered his thoughts on consumers’ increasingly digital personal footprint before the WorldFuture 2016 conference.
To illustrate the point, Schurr shared a story of the day he logged into Amazon to update his payment credentials. He was surprised to see how many of his payment cards he had loaded into the service over the many years he had been a user.
“I realized I’d created a substantial digital footprint just with Amazon alone,” Schurr said. “I also acknowledged the pros and cons of sharing that and other information. The more information I allow Amazon access to, the narrower my search results. Maybe this is a good thing because it enhances the personalization of my experience. But maybe this is a bad thing. Perhaps there is more out there I want to find – more products, books, tools I’d like – but Amazon’s algorithms don’t think I would like them, so I don’t see them.”
He continued, “Like it or not, data analytics is creating an invisible shield around portions of the internet, and that’s going to be frustrating to several consumer segments in the future.”
This will become especially important as digital natives age, Schurr said.
“Fifty years from now, the records of nearly every individual on the planet will paint a cradle-to-grave picture, and any number of decisions will be made based on those pictures,” Schurr said.
He added future consumers will receive a digital footprint score to help the government, banking and insurance industries, and other parties evaluate things like creditworthiness.
Schurr also discussed the value consumers will place on the security of their PII.
“I’m trusting Amazon to keep my information secure, but are they? Today, many banking and other apps present consumers with a take-it-or-leave it offer,” he said.
Consumers, he explained, do not have a choice as to how much data they want exposed.
“If you want this app, you have to allow it access to your contacts,” he noted. “If you want this one, you have to allow it access to your location.”
These take-it-or-leave-it offers work largely because consumers are willing to share their data if they can see the value in it. To play Pokémon Go, for example, individuals have to allow camera access.
Trust is another important reason consumers share. Nowadays, financial institutions have trust on their side – something Schurr noted is delicate and requires careful management today and into the future.
“Trust and transparency will be key to striking a balance with future consumers who will be more savvy about how their data is being used to personalize their experiences,” Schurr said. “While today’s banking customers may be OK with take-it-or-leave it apps, I expect that to change in the future. Success will come to those who are clear with consumers about the information that’s being collected, how it’s being applied and with which entities it is being shared.”
Schurr advised financial institutions and others on how to design productive and ethical data collection strategies.
“Consumers of the future will ask you to demonstrate competency in four areas,” he said.
According to Schurr, those areas are:
- Keeping consumer data secure;
- Providing real value in trade for the data;
- Innovating to provide even greater value in the future; and
- Always telling the truth.
