Nearly half of consumers in Hong Kong would be willing to share significant personal information with their bank or insurer in exchange for lower pricing on products and services.

«There’s strong evidence in Hong Kong that consumers are willing to share significant personal data to improve their lives and get very targeted services and offers, but here, as in many countries around the world, concerns about data privacy and security are very high,» said Ravinder Chhabra, managing director and financial services practice lead at Accenture in Hong Kong.

Nearly half of consumers in Hong Kong would be willing to share significant personal information, such as location data and lifestyle information with their bank or insurer in exchange for lower pricing on products and services, according to a new report from Accenture.

Why Sharing?

The data is part of Accenture’s global Financial Services Consumer Study, which was based on a survey of 47,000 consumers in 28 markets and found that close to 50 percent of Hong Kong consumers would share that data for benefits including more-rapid loan approvals, discounts on gym memberships and personalized offers based on their location.

In banking, 81 percent of consumers would be willing to share income, location and lifestyle habit data for rapid loan approval, and 79 percent would do so to receive personalized offers based on their location, such as discounts from a retailer.

Privacy is Paramount

Nearly half (46 percent) of consumers want their bank to provide updates on how much money they have until their next payday, and 63 percent want savings tips based on their spending habits.

At the same time, however, consumers believe that privacy is paramount, with almost two-thirds (60 percent) saying they are very cautious about the privacy of their personal data. In fact, data security breaches were the third-biggest concern for consumers, behind only increasing costs and lack of products for their needs, when asked what would make them leave their bank or insurer.

Higher in Southeast Asia

Appetite for sharing significant personal data with financial firms was high in China and India, with 67 percent and 69 percent of consumers respectively willing to share more data for personalized services. That rate was even higher in Southeast Asia, with 81 percent of respondents in Indonesia and 74 percent in Thailand saying the same.

Half (50 percent) of consumers in the U.S. and 53 percent in Hong Kong said they were willing to share more data for personalized services, and in Europe — where the General Data Protection Regulation took effect in May — consumers were more skeptical. For instance, only 40 percent of consumers in the U.K. and Germany said they would be willing to share more data with banks and insurers in return for personalized services.