Cypriots do not trust bank employees for advice on financial activities

Cypriots do not trust bank employees for advice on their financial activities compared to citizens in the rest of the EU, but they trust advertising material more, according to an extraordinary Eurobarometer, released Thursday by the European Commission.

The Eurobarometer examined the relationship of European citizens with financial services, especially amid the ever-increasing digitization of the economic sector.

Data also show that Cypriots do not want to use their savings and investments to finance environmentally harmful activities, but they believe that they do not have enough information if this is actually happening.

The main sources of information used by Cypriots to make decisions about their personal financial issues are specialized guidance from magazines or an evaluation service (40% in Cyprus, 36% in the EU), recommendations from friends, relatives and acquaintances (34% in Cyprus, 35% in the EU) and advertisements and brochures with information on specific banking products and services (24% in Cyprus, 14% in the EU).

Although they trust the advertisements of banking institutions, Cypriots do not trust the recommendations of bank employees or other financial advisors (17%), while in the EU this option is the most popular with 45%.

Only 8% in Cyprus and 5% in the EU state that they are influenced by information on social media and influencers.

In response to questions about sustainable finance, 39% of Cypriots and 24% in the EU said they strongly agreed that they would not want their savings and investments to be used to finance activities with a negative impact on the environment. Another 38% in both Cyprus and the EU stated that they quite agree that they would not want something like this, while only 7% in Cyprus and 16% in the EU strongly disagreed.

However, only 34% in Cyprus and the EU state that they are certain or relatively certain that they know whether their savings and investments are used in environmentally sustainable activities.

On the other hand, 46% in Cyprus and 29% in the EU said that they receive information on the environmental impact of their investments.

The Eurobarometer also showed that 79% of Cypriots (86% in the EU) said they feel comfortable managing their personal finances, while 77% of Cypriots (72% in the EU) said they feel comfortable using websites and apps for their banking activities.

Also 9% in Cyprus (12% in the EU) of those who have a bank account said that they have a bank account in another member state.

Cyprus is also well above the average in the percentage of bank customers who reported that they bought a product such as investments in another member state (38% in Cyprus, 15% in the EU).

The results of the Eurobarometer vary considerably from country to country, but also according to age, gender and educational level.

In addition, 32% of Cypriots (19% in the EU) responded positively to the question whether their economic rights have been violated in the context of interaction with a banking organization.

Of these, 34% of Cypriots (34% in the EU) filed a complaint with the provider, however only 4% complained to the competent national authority (16% in the EU) and only 4% resorted to a consumer protection association (10% in the EU).

Data also show differences in how consumers use ATMs or online banking services, although Cyprus is close to the average.

Regarding the use of ATMs, 55% of Cypriots (46% in the EU) stated that they can very easily find a machine, 32% of Cypriots (40% in the EU) answered "somewhat easily", 8% in Cyprus (10% in the EU) answered "somewhat difficult" and 5% of Cypriots (3% in the EU) answered "very difficult".

Also 35% of Cypriots (33% in the EU) responded that they had heard of the digital euro, of which 12% in Cyprus (10% in the EU) considered that they had good knowledge of the subject, with 31% in Cyprus (23% in the EU) stated that they have heard about the issue but are not sure of the details.

The Eurobarometer was based on a questionnaire with 16 questions and a sample of 27,862 people in all 27 member states. In Cyprus 513 people responded and the survey was conducted between May 30 and June 14, 2022.