Only 1 in 3 Poles know how to pay by card. The rest are playing with fire
A significant number of financial incidents could be avoided or the losses associated with them significantly reduced if only consumers used a separate account for everyday expenses, according to an analysis by Airtel.
According to NBP data, 88.5% of people have a personal account. adult Poles, and there are approximately 37.5 million active accounts. Taking into account the data from the 2021 census, this would mean that just over 27.6 million adults in Poland have their own current account. If the numbers match, at most every third person can have more than one account, excluding accounts opened for children.
Is that good? According to the analysis presented by the Indian telecom Airtel – not necessarily. The company’s analysts allegedly examined thousands of financial incidents from around the world and came to the conclusion that many of them could have been avoidedor at least minimize losses, if only the victim diversified the location of his finances.
The summary report itself is not particularly exciting, as it takes the form of an advertising brochure for a sister bank, but it is hard to disagree with some of the conclusions. First of all, using one account both for savings and for current expenses, especially those made by card or online, is a large and unnecessary risk.
One bank account is tempting fate
Airtel estimates that as many as 9 out of 10 attacks on bank accounts are carried out using the phishing technique, and fraudsters extort login details under the pretext of seemingly insignificant operations. If the victims used a separate online payment account with only a symbolic amount of money, the loss would be minimal, it was estimated.
Similarly, in the case of payment cards, which, according to the information presented, are most often stolen or lost during mass events and other entertainment activities. As the company rightly comments, there is no point in taking all your savings with you when you go to the party. Let us add that in the case of events with a lot of alcohol, there is also a risk that a tipsy person will overspend.
According to experts, which is hard to disagree with, it should be common practice having at least two accounts. One for basic purposes, and the other for everyday use, where we only transfer the amounts deducted for a specific purchase or event.
Moreover, Airtel advises you to consider whether you need a payment card and a smartphone application for your main account. However, in the latter case, it is probably better to have the application, because, as we know, it allows for mobile authorization, which is in every respect safer than codes sent via SMS.
