Experimental Evidence on Educational Tips and Warnings within a Digital Payment App
Researchers: Anu Jose, Danish Us-Salam, Jane Kelly, Michael King, Selim Gulesci
Partners: Central Bank of Ireland
Location: Ireland
Sample: 3,000 nationally representative individuals, with 750 participants in each experimental arm
Timeline: 2025-2026
Description:
Financial scams impose costs on consumers and the financial industry. This online trial tests the causal effects of fraud education tips and visual warnings presented immediately before payment confirmation within a simulated banking app.
Participants are randomised at the individual level to four experimental groups:
Control: Standard mobile payment journey
Treatment 1: Generic fraud tips
Treatment 2: Fraud-specific tips
Treatment 3: Visual fraud warning
The study examines whether these interventions help consumers detect fraudulent scenarios and whether some methods are more effective than others. It also tests whether effectiveness varies with participants’ online risky payment behaviour.
Primary outcomes measure whether participants confirm payments in legitimate and illegitimate scenarios. Secondary outcomes include fraud comprehension, confidence in payment decisions, and the proportion of participants who cancel all illegitimate payments and confirm all legitimate payments.
The results will provide evidence to support policymakers’ efforts to protect consumers from payment fraud.
The registry was last updated on 8 January 2025, so I have omitted its potentially outdated “In development” status from the website text.