It's great news for FI's s that many customers want to use the online channel to manage their credit card account, apply for cards and we can assume generally do more business with their FI's.

This provides FI's with an opportunity we already knew was there, and with some risks we can't quite measure. In the street theft of a customer's card is a different psychological proposition for customers than the theft of details online. In the first instance the customer knows the card is gone and may even have a clue as to who took it, but online theft provokes a different reaction.

The physical theft is an everyday thing done in the physical world and we have systems in place to deal with that, both in the customer's mind and with law enforcement processes. In the customer's mind they are aware of the crime, can mitigate the effects, and can imagine a person getting caught and punished. With online crime such as data theft the customer usually isn't aware of the event until someone (usually their bank) notifies them, or even worse, they may be attempting a transaction and it is refused through lack of funds or blocked.

It is a power issue.

The customer feels more powerless when they are the victim of online crime. If the first the customer finds out is while they're standing at the head of a queue in the supermarket, it creates embarrassment and inconvenience, and if at a restaurant with clients or friends then it has the additional effect of preceived loss of status or power. Being rendered powerless is an unpleasant experience for the customer and is compounded because they generally don't know at that point what the reason for their loss of power might be.

So internet or online theft is really a power issue. It's hard to feel powerful if you have no idea who the perpetrator is and they blind side you at an embarrasing moment. It is much easier to arrive at lunch and say that your wallet was stolen minutes before, and you won't suffer loss of face, your campanions are even likely to suggest ways to mitigate your loss and assist in the process. If you only find out your card is worthless when you are trying to pay, and are given no reason why, the feeling is entirely different.

Empowering your customers to reject transactions on their cards is a great enhancement to service. Banks can use the customer's mobile phone to notify them of transactions and provide the customer with the power to prevent an anonymous cyber thief from doing them harm.

If you are going to increase customer interaction online your institution had best have some processes in place to prevent harm to your relationship. There is a liitle more to it than having an easy to navigate site. Usability is about continued safe and easy use, long after they've applied for their card. Remember, the primary reason people use any bank is safety.

There isn't any need to require the customer verify all transactions, perhaps only the higher  value or 'out of home territory' transactions, but to at least notify the customer of transactions on their card empowers the customer more than the anonymous faceless cyber thief.

It all about not feeling powerless. 

Empower your customers today and build loyalty.