More than half, or 56 per cent, of Emiratis trust banks and financial service providers with their personal data, a new survey revealed on Monday.
Emiratis have more confidence in lenders than customers in big economies such as the US, France and Spain, placing seventh overall in a poll of 17 countries and cities by MoneyTransfers.com, based on YouGov data.
Poland took top spot in the survey, with 85 per cent of its citizens expressing confidence in how the financial sector handles their data, followed by Indonesia where seven in 10 people gave their approval.
Germany and India were tied in third place, with 68 per cent of citizens happy that their data was being handled competently and ethically, according to the survey of 2,251 people aged 18 and above.
A separate survey in May by market research consultancy Insight Discovery found that 20 per cent of UAE residents perceive credit card companies as having the second worst reputation after recruiters.
However, the reputation of credit card companies has improved over the past 12 months, with a fifth of those polled perceiving them in bad light, compared with 23 per cent in 2020.
Meanwhile, French citizens are the most sceptical of their banks, with only 37 per cent having faith that financial service providers will manage their personal data properly, the MoneyTransfers.com survey found.
Italy was ranked just above France in 14th place, with only 38 per cent of Italians confident about how financial service providers use their data.
Sweden (61 per cent) and the UK (59 per cent) rounded off the top five while Denmark (57 per cent) was sixth and the UAE was tied with Australia in seventh position.
China (53 per cent), Singapore (52 per cent) and Hong Kong (50 per cent) made up the top 10 countries where consumers trust how financial data is handled.
A separate study by the CFA Institute last year found that six in 10 UAE investors trust the investment management industry, compared with four in 10 globally. However, high fees were quoted as the main impediment to working with an advisory company.
