Consumer Interest in Credentials Vaults – March 2023
A credentials vault aggregates payment
information and stored credentials in a secure
environment. It automatically updates the
payment information shared with merchants
when consumers update their payment
methods or change account numbers. As
a result, when a consumer receives a new
payment card, for example, they only need
to update a single source and do not need
to painstakingly reenter payment information
for every merchant one at a time. These
applications also encrypt card information so
that the data would be useless to fraudsters
in the event of a security breach.
MARCH 2023
TRADITIONAL FIs FIGHT DIGITAL
ALTERNATIVES FOR CONSUMER TRUST
WHAT IS A CREDENTIALS VAULT?
02 | Introduction
© 2023 PYMNTS All Rights Reserved
Six in 10 consumers currently store credentials to pay for
subscriptions and online purchases. This number is even
higher among the millennial and high-income demographics,
of which 68% and 65%, respectively, use stored credentials
when making these payments. While some consumers still
painstakingly enter their payment information every time they submit a
payment, there is a clear need for the convenience a credentials vault
would offer.
Consumers, however, are picky about who they would trust to admin-
ister a credentials vault, even if using one would make payments easier
for them. The most popular option for consumers remains their own
banks, but a substantial number would also be interested in allowing a
name-brand FinTech or even a non-financial institution (non-FI), such as
Amazon or Google, to administer a vault. Getting consumers to the point
where they are ready to adopt these services, however, will require ed-
ucation and reassurance that these services are safe and trustworthy.
For Consumer Interest in Credentials Vaults, PYMNTS surveyed a census-
balanced panel of 2,313 United States consumers from Jan. 20 to Jan.
23 to learn about their experiences with credentials vaults, who they
would trust to run a vault and whether they would allow a marketplace
or business to access their information when using one.
This is what we learned.
TABLE
OF
CONTENTS
Introduction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .03
Key findings . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .04
Conclusion and methodology . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .20
CONSUMER
INTERST IN
CREDNTIALS
VAULTS:
TRADITIONL FI
s FIGHT DITAL
ALTERNTIVES FOR CONSUMER TRST
Consumer Interest in Credentials Vaults | 05
© 2023 PYMNTS All Rights Reserved
04 | Key findings
More than half of consumers who regularly
pay online using stored credentials say they
would use a secure credentials vault for most
or all their online transactions.
We found that 46% of consumers who used stored credentials
to pay for 75% or more of their subscriptions or online pur-
chases are highly interested in vault use. Furthermore, 51% of
these consumers say they would use a vault for most or all of
their transactions.
Generally speaking, interest in using a credentials vault cor-
relates with having experienced more issues with payments in
the past, such as having a payment declined because the card
information was outdated. Consumers who have experienced
these issues with their payment credentials are nearly twice
as likely to be interested in payment vaults than those who did
not experience issues. Forty-three percent of consumers who
experienced issues when paying with stored credentials are
highly interested in using a vault, compared to 25% of those
who did not experience issues.
PART I:
OPENING THE DOOR TO NEW PLAYERS
© 2023 PYMNTS All Rights Reserved
06 | Key findings
Consumers trust the providers they transact online with most
to provide a payments vault — their bank, PayPal and Amazon.
Ultimately, 45% of consumers cite their primary banks as the
institution they trust most to provide credentials vault ser-
vices.
Trust in tech companies such as PayPal or Amazon to provide
a vault has increased since September 2022. In September
2022, 40% of consumers trusted PayPal to provide a vault, and
37% trusted Amazon. These shares increased in January 2023,
reaching 49% for PayPal and 43% for Amazon.
Consumers continue to say they trust their primary banks to
provide a credentials vault, far more so than non-FIs such as
Amazon or PayPal. Fifty-nine percent of consumers trust their
primary banks to provide a vault service, and 45% consider
them the provider they would trust the most to provide this
service.
Interestingly, consumers more interested in using a vault tend
to trust non-FIs more than banks to provide this service.
Among highly interested consumers, 64% would trust a non-FI
or FinTech to provide the vault service. Among those who are
just slightly interested in using a vault service, the share drops
to 46%.
Consumer Interest in Credentials Vaults | 07
Consumer Interest in Credentials Vaults | 09
© 2023 PYMNTS All Rights Reserved
Figure 2A
Who consumers trust to provide vault services
Share of consumers who say they would trust select companies to provide a credentials vault
Primary bank
PayPal
Amazon
Apple
Microsoft
eBay
A bank that is not mine
A FinTech
Another provider
0
10
20
30
40
50
60
58.5%
57.0%
58.5%
48.7%
44.0%
40.2%
43.3%
39.8%
36.9%
30.9%
27.0%
29.4%
30.2%
27.4%
29.3%
17.5%
15.0%
17.0%
12.2%
10.8%
11.6%
5.8%
5.4%
7.5%
3.2%
3.1%
4.2%
0.9%
6.2%
4.4%
January 2023
November 2022
September 2022
Source: PYMNTS
Consumer Interest in Credentials Vaults: Traditional FIs Fight Digital Alternatives for Consumer Trust,
March 2023
N varies by month surveyed; N = 2,313: Complete responses in January 2023, fielded Jan. 20, 2023 –
Jan. 23, 2023
Made with
08 | Key findings
© 2023 PYMNTS All Rights Reserved
10 | Key findings
Figure 2C
Who consumers trust to provide vault services
Share of consumers who say they would trust select companies to provide a credentials vault,
by level of interest in using a vault
Source: PYMNTS
Consumer Interest in Credentials Vaults: Traditional FIs Fight Digital Alternatives for Consumer Trust,
March 2023
N varies by month surveyed; N = 2,313: Complete responses in January 2023, fielded Jan. 20, 2023 –
Jan. 23, 2023
5.5%
2%
1.3%
0.8%
Primary bank
PayPal
Amazon
Apple
Microsoft
A bank that is not mine
eBay
A FinTech
Another provider
0
5
10
15
20
25
30
35
40
45
50
55
60
36.0%
48.2%
54.1%
24.7%
18.1%
19.1%
12.4%
13.8%
10.2%
13.3%
8.8%
7.7%
6.7%
4.8%
4.7%
2.4%
2.0%
1.2%
1.3%
1.5%
1.0%
1.0%
1.5%
1.4%
1.3%
0.3%
0.5%
0.8%
1.0%
0.2%
Very or extremely interested
Somewhat interested
Slightly or not at al interested
Made with
Consumer Interest in Credentials Vaults | 11
Consumer Interest in Credentials Vaults | 13
© 2023 PYMNTS All Rights Reserved
12 | Key findings
12 | Key
More robust data protection and better
checkout experiences are the main reasons
consumers want to make payments using
credentials vaults.
Consumers who trust their bank to provide a vault are par-
ticularly interested in data protection. Thirty-six percent of
consumers consider stronger data protection the most im-
portant feature of using a vault. Those who would trust their
primary banks to provide the service are more likely to feel
this way, at 43%.
While data protection is also the most important feature for
consumers who trust a FinTech or non-FI to provide a vault,
more than two-thirds of FinTech and non-FI users say fast
checkouts are a key feature influencing their interest in a vault.
In contrast, 58% of those who would prefer to use vault ser-
vices from their primary bank believe fast payments are the
most important feature.
PART II:
BUILDING A VAULT WORTH TRUSTING
Consumers who use stored credentials to pay for 75% or
more of their subscriptions or online purchases are more in-
terested in non-security-related features than those who use
stored credentials for a lower share of purchases. Sixty-seven
percent of consumers who use stored credentials for 75% or
more of their purchases consider fast payment processing a
key feature influencing their usage of a vault. For consumers
who use stored credentials to pay less than 50% of the time,
the share drops to 56%, indicating that fast payment process-
ing motivates these consumers significantly less. After all, the
more consumers pay with stored credentials, the more inter-
ested they are in streamlining the payment process.
© 2023 PYMNTS All Rights Reserved
14 | Key findings
Consumer Interest in Credentials Vaults | 15
Consumer Interest in Credentials Vaults | 17
© 2023 PYMNTS All Rights Reserved
16 | Key findings
Currently, just 2 in 10 consumers would switch
to shopping with online merchants that accept
payments from a credentials vault, indicating
a need for vault providers to educate
consumers.
Fifty-four percent of consumers say they would trust FinTechs
or non-FIs to provide a vault, and 33% of these consumers
would switch to merchants that link to a vault service.
In contrast, just 14% of those who say they prefer traditional
banks would be very or extremely likely to switch. Forty-eight
percent of consumers who say they find it very or extremely
difficult to track their stored credentials are highly likely to
switch, with convenience and ease of use serving as a draw for
these consumers.
Consumers with five or more stored credentials are more likely
than consumers who store fewer credentials to switch to a
merchant that offers a vault, indicating that the ideal vault-
using consumer is a consumer who already regularly stores
data and wants greater convenience and security along with
these services they already use.
PART III:
THE VAULT USER OF THE FUTURE
However, given the low number of overall consumers who
would consider shopping online with a merchant that accepts
payments from a credentials vault, it is necessary to educate
consumers about these options and be able to offer them
secure options they can trust.
© 2023 PYMNTS All Rights Reserved
18 | Key findings
Figure 4A
Consumers are open to using vaults offered through FinTechs and Non-FIs
Share of respondents who would most trust select companies to provide credentials vault
services, by demographic
Source: PYMNTS
Consumer Interest in Credentials Vaults: Traditional FIs Fight Digital Alternatives for Consumer Trust,
March 2023
N = 2,313: Complete responses, fielded Jan. 20, 2023 – Jan. 23, 2023
5.5%
2%
1.3%
0.8%
Sample
Baby boomers and seniors
Generation X
Bridge millennials
Millennials
Generation Z
More than $100K
$50K-$100K
Less than $50K
0
10
20
30
40
50
60
70
80
90 100
46.1%
32.1%
21.8%
67.0%
19.3%
13.7%
45.7%
30.4%
23.9%
33.3%
38.4%
28.3%
32.5%
40.0%
27.5%
37.2%
42.4%
20.4%
44.3%
37.4%
18.3%
48.3%
30.6%
21.1%
45.9%
27.1%
27.0%
Traditional bank
Non-FI
FinTech
Generation
Income
Made with
Consumer Interest in Credentials Vaults | 19
© 2023 PYMNTS All Rights Reserved
Credentials vaults offer consumers safer, more stream-
lined and more convenient ways to store and update
payment credentials and make payments. Vaults are
becoming more common, but consumers are often still
unaware of their benefits, which could help streamline
payment processes and make them more secure. Increased efforts to
get the word out are necessary to grow the popularity of these ser-
vices, whether administered by a bank, a FinTech or a non-FI. As these
services become more widespread, it will be up to these providers to
prove they can offer these services securely and find a way to give
themselves a unique path to compete in the market. As the market
matures, these firms and traditional banks will likely continue their
battle for customer trust and attention.
Consumer Interest in Credentials Vaults: Traditional FIs Fight Digital Alternatives for
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DISCLAIMER
Consumer Interest in Payments Vaults: Traditional FIs Fight Digital Al-
ternatives for Consumer Trust, an independently produced report from
PYMNTS, is based on a survey of a census-balanced panel of 2,313
U.S. consumers conducted between Jan. 20 and Jan. 23. Respondents
were 48 years old on average, 52% identified as female and 32% held
college degrees. We also collected data from consumers in differ-
ent income brackets: 36% of respondents reported earning more than
$100,000 per year, 31% earned between $50,000 and $100,000 and
33% earned less than $50,000.
METHODOLOGY
