6 in 10 find hidden charges on online banking platforms, shows data

Six in every ten users have witnessed a dark pattern such as drip pricing or hidden charges on online banking platforms, according to a report by community platform LocalCircles.

Respondents to the survey said they experienced hidden charges which were not disclosed upfront but were debited from their account later. Drip pricing is a practice of presenting a low price for products or services, but increasing it incrementally towards the end of a sale by adding hidden fees.

The survey received over 44,000 responses from users of online banking located in 363 districts of India. Its findings are related to ‘dark patterns’. These are tricks used by websites and apps that manipulate consumers into buying products or services, hiding charges about a service, or locking consumers into a recurring subscription.

The survey added that 32 per cent of online banking users said they had experienced ‘subscription traps’.

“Subscription traps in online banking refers to the deployment of a dark pattern where a consumer can easily sign up for a new product/service online but they are locked into a service such that they experience recurring charges and there are no available options online through which they can unsubscribe from the service as easily,” it said.

39 per cent of banking users surveyed in the report added that they experienced a ‘bait and switch’ type of a dark pattern.

For instance, deposits and loans with an attractive offer interest rate were advertised to customers but when the transaction was closed, the interest rate was different. This forms a part of the bait and switch approach.

Four in ten customers ended up buying products or services they did not seek since some online banking platforms disrupted the flow of a transaction and drove them towards a different product or a service.

In November last year, Reserve Bank of India (RBI) Deputy Governor M Rajeshwar Rao had flagged the rise of a new form of mis-selling known as dark patterns.

“Customers today are facing threats from technology-induced frauds such as fraudulent apps, breach of privacy, and deep fakes. Even mis-selling has emerged in a digital avatar now – called Dark Patterns,” he had said.