By Daisy Okanga | Most bank customers are satisfied with the quality of services being offered by the banking industry. This is according to this year’s edition of the Kenya Bankers Association.
Bank clients rated their satisfaction level at 83% based on banks’ responsiveness and service quality.
In the survey that analyses feedback from more than 11,000 respondents, 20% of bank customers highlight their overall experience as ‘’Good’’ with 5% describing their experience as “Fair” and 1% noting that the services they received in 2019 were “Unsatisfactory”.
The survey further indicated the use of mobile banking rose to 57% in 2019 from 49% recorded in 2018. The spike was also experienced in the utilization of Internet banking channels, whose preference doubled from 16% in 2018 to 34% the following year.
“The high preference of mobile banking in part could be due to the high mobile phone penetration which has reached almost near-saturation levels compared to Internet adoption. Overall, this shows that customers are warming up to digital channels. These transformations have been enabled by banks’ continued investment in lower-cost digital capabilities which have consequently boosted customers’ adoption given their simplicity and convenience,” Says the report.
The survey comes at a time when banks are rolling out innovations such as Chatbots based on Artificial Intelligence in keeping with the needs and expectations of customers. The innovations have also been motivated by the desire to bolster operational efficiency through automation.
While customers’ preference for digital channels is on the rise, the survey indicates that branches are still an important channel for customer engagement as 22% still prefer to visit the branch.
KBA Research and Policy Director Mr. Jared Osoro urged banks to continue implementing frameworks to better customer experience and service delivery across banking channels.
Said he, “From the survey’s findings, there is a clear indication that technology remains an important driver of customer satisfaction and promoting customers’ seamless interaction with banks’ transaction channels. Therefore, it is imperative for the industry to continue developing innovative solutions to enhance customer experience and service delivery,”
Standard Chartered Bank was recognized as the top overall bank in customer satisfaction, followed by Equity bank in the second overall position and Diamond Trust Bank coming in third position. The top overall banks retained their positions respectively in the Tier I category.
