Ethical Use of Persuasive Technology in Financial Products and/or Services : An Investigation of what Ethical Factors Financial Institutes Need to Recognise if they Consider using Persuasive Technology in their Services and/or Products

Abstract: Ethics is an important issue in persuasive technology. Previous research indicates that the application areas for persuasive technology are many with evidence for use in health, education, e-commerce, and social media, which has further led to deeper research on ethics in these areas. However, in finance there is a lack of research of ethics combined with persuasive technology. This study therefore takes a closer look at which ethical factors the financial sector needs to keep in mind if they were to consider using persuasive technology in their services and/or products, to protect their own and their users’ integrity. Seven participants were invited and participated in a think aloud interview, as well as semi-structured interview and a questionnaire was also shared on social media platforms where responses were received from 41 participants. A thematic analysis was performed that showed contradictions in the participants' perception of persuasive technology that seems to be based on a lack of knowledge about the area rather than the technology itself. Consequently, it became clear that transparency was important and that this in turn could lead to increased trust. Trust was the aspect that the participants considered to be most important in the choice of financial institution and is therefore also the ethical factor that should be valued the most.