A consumer is a person who buys goods or services. Consumer information is the personally identifiable information that a person provides to get a good or service. In the financial industry, customers provide their information to get services from banks or other financial institutions. People use it to get home or car loans, apply for credit cards, or open checking accounts.
Items that a person buys for personal, family, or household use are called consumer goods. Services that a person buys for personal, family, or household use are called consumer services. These terms are not used to refer to goods or services purchased by a business.
Consumer financial information includes many items other than a person’s name. It can include:
Consumer financial information also can include a spouse’s employment and income history. It is all information that a consumer provides to a financial institution to get a product or service.
FYI
Many people access their banking accounts through online bank websites. A 2019 survey from the American Bankers Association showed 70 percent of consumers use their mobile devices to manage their bank accounts.10 Some people also have multiple accounts at multiple banks. To protect your financial information, use different strong passwords for each online account. Always enable multifactor authentication if that option is available to you.