Consumers ‘don’t trust’ supermarket banking

More than 60 per cent of consumers would not trust their local supermarket with their savings account, according to research released this week.

The figure is revealed in an omnibus study of consumers’ attitudes to new credit cards and loyalty schemes conducted by RSL Research, called Strategic Initiatives Monitor (Simon).

It is the first time the survey, which questions 1,000 people monthly, has asked: “If your local supermarket offered a savings account would you trust them with your money?”

The most trusted supermarket was the Co-op, with 52 per cent of people saying they would deposit savings.

Waitrose, which has no financial services on offer, was next with 51 per cent, followed by Sainsbury’s on 50 per cent, Tesco on 44 per cent, Asda on 37 per cent and Kwik-Save and Somerfield on 27 and 25 per cent respectively. The average support was 38 per cent.

“Even the most trustworthy supermarkets – in terms of the survey – only got just over 50 per cent approval,” says RSL director of financial services Adrian Gammon. “I would interpret this as suggesting that people are sceptical.”

The Sainsbury’s Bank claimed to have received 100m in deposits in its first ten weeks of offering savings account facilities earlier this year.