Our recent customer survey showed 66.7% of respondents feel their bank should be doing more to improve online services during the pandemic, with one of the major pain points being the lack of clarity in the way basic transaction information is displayed.  

A total of 81.7% of respondents have seen transactions they don't recognise on their statements, and the majority used the words, “worried”, “annoyed” and “frustrated” to describe how this problem makes them feel.

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Why are people more anxious about unrecognised transactions this year?

1. The pandemic has caused a surge in card-not-present transactions, which has increased exposure for digital payments fraud. Our survey showed 23.3% of respondents are more worried than usual about online payment fraud this year.

2. In this environment of economic uncertainty, people are more careful about tracking their money. When they see a transaction they don’t recognise, they’re more likely to question it. The majority (71.7%) of survey respondents have called or visited the bank to get more information on a transaction this year.

The true cost of unrecognised transactions

The problem of unrecognised transactions is nothing new — but this year’s pandemic has exacerbated the cost to both consumers and banks.

In addition to the emotional toll on consumers, confusing transaction descriptions make it more difficult to identify fraud, track spending accurately and make well-informed financial decisions.

For banks, this problem is costing millions of dollars in customer support and chargeback and fraud investigations every year. Globally, chargebacks are expected to cost financial institutions US$16.4 billion this year alone.

It also makes it difficult for banks to analyse consumer spending patterns, which in turn prevents them from capitalising on data-driven marketing strategies that are proven to grow profits between 20% and 40%.

How banks can support customers with better online banking services now

While suggestions for improvement included, “the ability to change address online” and “the ability to reset passwords online”, 100% of survey respondents said they “want the banking app to show the actual shop name for each transaction.”

In fact, 60% of respondents would be likely or very likely to switch to a bank that provided actual merchant names on transactions.

The reason so few banks do this is because it’s difficult. The information for each transaction is pieced together from multiple sources, so it often ends up as a string of unintelligible numbers and letters. 

Still, difficult doesn’t mean impossible. Many banks around the world are partnering with fintechs to fill the gaps in technology and provide customers with the clear information they need to better manage their finances. 

Even by making this one change in the way transactions are displayed, some banks have seen transaction queries reduce by up to 60% and chargeback costs reduce by up to 40%.

gini’s software makes it possible for banks to input enriched data directly into online banking portals and display the merchant, category and location behind each transaction, without having to integrate additional infrastructure or share any data.

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