Savers are increasingly consulting their account statements from their cell phones. However, the imprecise wording of some transactions makes them difficult to read.
While 86% of French people consider that their bank is evolving positively by integrating new technologies into its services, bank account statements are not considered satisfactory, according to a study carried out by Opinion Way on behalf of fintech CDLK. Read more.
Monetics flows difficult to decipher
This study shows that 52% of those surveyed had difficulty identifying a merchant when consulting their credit card statement. Among them, 54% feared a risk of fraud. Millennials are particularly concerned by this phenomenon: 72% of 25-34 year-olds say they experience this type of difficulty.
Another finding: 38% of people who find it difficult to decipher the origin of their expenses contact their bank for clarification and to ask questions, generating a large number of calls.
This illegibility of account statements is due to the way in which banking organizations construct transaction labels. Each payment generates compensation between the merchant's bank, which collects the purchase amount, and the customer's bank. Every day, in France, the payment system known as Core (for COmpensation REtail) collects all the banks' transactions. After sorting all the transactions, it sends back to the banks the precise details of the transactions that concern them. However, the data retrieved does not always provide an accurate description of the transaction. For example, if a merchant's payment terminal (TPE) is registered in the name of the company that owns it, rather than that of the business, it is the former that will appear on the account statement. In this case, it is impossible for the customer to know which business he is dealing with, especially as the date shown does not correspond to the actual date of purchase, but to the date of remote collection of the data recorded in the Eftpos terminal, which may be a different day.
Accurate expense tracking not a priority for banks
77% of those surveyed said they were interested in the possibility of better tracking of card spending. Young people are also showing a growing interest in accurate expense tracking, with 83% of users aged under 35 wishing to have more precise information on their expenses, including the identity of the merchant.
Today, this problem is not considered a priority by banks. However, it would be in the banks' interest to offer this type of solution. It would not only enable them to offer their customers a better service, but also reduce costs. Indeed, users who notice an unknown debit on their current account generally contact their advisor for clarification. However, they don't have more information at their disposal. Unproductive incoming calls represent a significant operational cost for the network. In some cases, undetected or unnecessarily reported cases of fraud can increase bank card renewal costs.
According to fintech CDLK, the illegibility of account statements represents a significant loss of earnings for banks.