Leading a panel discussion around the complex topic of how companies can gain consumer trust and consent, Sanjib Kalita, Guppy CEO & Money 2020 editor in chief asked panellists to consider what is foundational when it comes to building consumer trust.

Elena Alfaro, global head of data and advanced analytics, client solutions, BBVA, stated that in order to achieve trust two things must be addressed:

1. We must be very respectful with personal data, and very careful with showing what is being done with the data effectively.
2. We need to create services based on this data that are meaningful and valuable to consumers.

“The problem is that these two things, consent and trust, don’t tend to go together all the time…We must bring these together to work hand-in-hand and I don’t think it’s the case today.”

Shail Deep, SVP chief product officer, TransUnion, argued that there are in fact three foundational elements which need to be satisfied: “There needs to be transparency with consumers, they must be in control, and they must be assured that the data is secure. Once these three elements are in place we develop and establish this level of trust. Of course trust and consent are two different things, but trust must be established before there can be consent.”

Putting the consumer in the middle is just the starting point to creating trust, and when it comes to privacy and data security, consumers are (positively) becoming more aware of the risks involved with sharing their data, observed CEO of Datakeeper, Joris Lange.

On the topic of where this trust is bubbling to the surface as a pressing issue, Deep explained wherever there is more awareness and choice, there is also going to be a trade between trust, control and assurance of security.

“Once trust is established, consumers are able to consider whether the value they are getting from the service is worthy of the value of the data they are providing. The younger population, GenZ, tends to have a different perception around what it means to provide data compared to say Baby Boomers. The trade-off remains the same, but the perceived value is different based on demographics.”

Alfaro countered the point, noting that when looking at the two concepts of privacy and value, it is essential to realise that while the second is based entirely on perception, privacy is a black and white regulatory consideration.

This focus on the regulatory obligation was continued by Deep, as particularly within financial services, consumers need to understand how they are going to benefit by sharing their financial information.

“Open banking is the clear example of where power is truly in the consumers’ hands to share their financial standing with their lender. The value they get in return is the easy, quick and straightforward process of getting a loan, or a credit card, or mortgage.”

“Additionally, we need to understand the element of protecting the consumer…By understanding the financial standing of consumers, we can and should help to protect them by noting letting them over-extend themselves financially. They still own their data, they have the right to revoke permission, but they understand that at the end of the day they are set to benefit from the process.”

Alfaro furthered that it is vital to recognise that the topic of data permission is central within financial services, because unlike say music apps or social apps, this industry deals with peoples’ money.

“If we don’t do this right, if people think we’re not using their data right and that money is at risk, because all future services in the space are based around data, if we don’t have consumers’ trust and consent, it is over.”

Communicating the value proposition is therefore foundational to encouraging the consumer to participate.

Deep elaborated on the point, noting that some organisations tend to lean into the pitfall of short-term revenue gains and end up milking their consumer relationships instead of deepening those further. Netflix for instance uses data well, using insights from their data base effectively to make insightful investment decision around their production in order to please their loyal subscribers.

“In fact, we’re seeing this shift in financial services as well, with organisations investing in looking into data insight which helps their consumers come up the curve of financial health and offer advisory services," added Deep. "This is with the intent to create a more secure relationship with consumers, instead of just aggressively cross-selling their financial products.”

Alfaro wants financial services to learn from the current approach to data and evolve away from it. She explained that the model used today (not always but often) is based on giving free services to people, taking the data, monetising the data and keeping consumers totally separate from the process. “We can’t continue creating businesses that hide the data they take from people and the value trade off they are receiving. It should be more obvious.”

Concluding the session on a hypothetical, Kalita asked the panel if they could change anything about the last 20 years to improve the data ecosystem, what would it be?

For Deep, the answer was three-fold:

1. To rid the system of data silos which hold organisations back and impact data integrity.
2. To make platforms more interoperable for the integration of data.
3. For the “holy grail” of an ecosystem that enables the combination of structured and unstructured data.

Alfaro stated that with hindsight it may have been wise to not allow free services for data, and certainly it would have been wise to avoid accumulation of data in the hands of very few tech leaders. She added, however, that “it is more valuable to think about what we should be doing differently in the future.”