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November 2006 — Vol. 84, No. 9

SMALL BUSINESS

Small businesses try to protect customers’ financial data,
but it’s not a top worry

 

Related articles:

Data security concerns are penetrating small businesses, according to a survey by VISA USA and the U.S. Chamber of Commerce. The study found that 64% of the businesses surveyed had taken action within the previous 12 months to better protect customer financial information.

The issue, though, is far from top of mind for business owners, since 63% said they rarely, if ever, worry about securing customer data.

Most of the surveyed businesses gave themselves strong grades on how well they are protecting customer data: 67% gave themselves an “A,” some 27% gave themselves a “B,” and 5% gave themselves a “C” or below.

Additional survey results include:

  • Small retailers spend more resources preventing the theft of products and cash from their store (34%) than securing customer data (20%).
  • Nearly two-thirds (64%) had improved how they protect customers’ personal information, including credit and debit card data, in the previous 12 months, and nearly three-in-10 (29%) had done so in the previous three months.
  • Only 17% said they knew what magnetic stripe data was.
  • Some 53% of retailers think their customers rarely, if at all, worry about their personal information.

Resources designed to help businesses protect sensitive customer data are available online at: