Consumer financial self-disclosure online: positive affect trumps perceived privacy risks in personal customer portals

Financial services firms often offer digital support tools to help consumers make better financial decisions. These tools depend on consumers’ disclosure of privacy-sensitive personal information to generate accurate advice. This study investigates the dual effects of increased perceived privacy risks and the induction of positive affect when consumers use online customer portals. In three experiments (total N 5 3; 346), we explore the impact of placing digital financial support tools in personal customer portals versus public website sections on consumer information disclosure. We demonstrate that while personal customer portals increase consumers’ perceived privacy risks, they also promote feelings of positive affect, which override privacy concerns and enhance willingness to share personal information. These results underscore the complex interplay between consumer privacy concerns and consumer affective responses in digital support tool design, and consumer decision making in the financial domain.