Public trust in secure handling of user data among companies from different industries varies significantly. While internet users in Europe mostly provide data to banks with a sense of security, they don't trust social media platforms much with their information. When it comes to handling user data, trust in banks among Europeans is at 54%, and in the Czech Republic, it's even higher at 66%. Banks are the only institutions with over half of respondents showing trust. Social media platforms, on the other hand, have only 14% of Europeans and 16% of Czechs trusting them, ranking at the bottom of the trust ladder.
Even though trust is an issue, sharing data is seen as a necessity. At least that's the belief of three-fifths of Czechs, who feel that without sharing their data, they wouldn't be able to fully utilize the services provided by various companies. This was highlighted in an international survey conducted by the EOS group, which focused on the value of data from the perspective of internet users.
Europe trusts banks and online payment providers
Trust in customer data processing is fundamentally influenced by the type of institution handling the data. In Europe, banks retain the greatest trust among customers, with more than half (54%) placing their trust in banks. Conversely, customers have the least trust in social media and communication services, with only 14% of Europeans believing in them. The trust of Czechs in banking institutions is unusually high among Europeans. Banks enjoy higher trust only in North Macedonia (67%), with even Switzerland, renowned for its banking, ranking third (61%). Customers in Spain and France have the least trust in banks. "The high trust in banks in the Czech Republic likely stems from the perception of high regulation in the banking market, which has not been affected by any significant data breaches or proven misuse so far," explains Vladimír Vachel from the EOS KSI debt collection agency.
So, what motivates data sharing when trust in some institutions is not particularly high? The EOS survey showed that most people feel as though they have no choice and that data sharing is almost coerced. If they didn't share data, they wouldn't be able to fully utilize the services companies provide, as stated by two-thirds (66%) of Europeans. Among the staunchest proponents of this view are Macedonians (77%), while Czechs (61%) along with the French (58%) and Spaniards (61%) support it the least. Additionally, half of Czechs mentioned not being entirely aware of how to prevent data sharing or change settings to avoid it. This result places Czechs among the more uninformed in Europe, with other nations displaying much greater ignorance in this regard.
About the Survey: What value do data hold?
The extensive international study, "What value do data hold?" by EOS, was conducted in collaboration with Kantar in the first half of 2020 on a representative sample of individuals aged 18 and above in seventeen examined countries. A sample of 1,000 respondents each was evaluated from Belgium, Bulgaria, the Czech Republic, France, Croatia, Germany, Poland, Romania, Russia, Slovakia, Slovenia, Serbia, Spain, Switzerland, the United States, and the United Kingdom, and a sample of 300 respondents from North Macedonia. Participants answered questions about how they handle their data, how they provide it to others, their trust in companies, and their willingness to sell data for rewards.
EOS KSI Czech Republic, s.r.o., is part of a multinational network of 50 companies operating in over 25 countries, specializing in financial services and all aspects of debt collection. The EOS Group was established in 1974. EOS is a reliable partner known for the highest level of services. Prominent banks, insurance companies, leasing companies, consumer credit providers, as well as companies in telecommunications, wholesale, and retail, entrust their finances to EOS. The group's headquarters are in Hamburg, Germany. Besides Germany, the EOS group is directly represented in Belgium, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Bulgaria, Montenegro, the Czech Republic, Denmark, France, Croatia, Ireland, Canada, Hungary, Macedonia, the Netherlands, Poland, Austria, Romania, Russia, Greece, Slovakia, Slovenia, the United States, Serbia, Spain, Switzerland, and the United Kingdom, and indirectly in another 150 countries worldwide.