This is the result of 2018 Agusto & Co. rating agency’s Consumer Digital Banking Satisfaction Index.
The banks are: Access Bank, Diamond Bank, Ecobank, Fidelity Bank, First Bank, Guaranty Trust Bank, Stanbic IBTC, UBA, Union Bank and Zenith Bank.
The agency’s survey respondents cut across 19 banks, out of a total of 22 commercial banks operating in Nigeria, but primarily focused on the top 10 banks (by total assets) for the maiden edition of the index.
“We however recognise that these banks are increasingly investing in technology to facilitate transactions for both high networth customers and corporate.
“Customers of the top five largest commercial banks: Zenith Bank Plc, First Bank of Nigeria Limited, United Bank for Africa Plc, Access Bank Plc, and Guaranty Trust Bank Plc, dominated 64.3 per cent of survey respondents,” the report read in part.
The Agusto & Co.’s 2018 Consumer Digital Banking Satisfaction Index for Nigerian banks takes into account a number of factors. These include ease of navigation, range of services customers are aware of, range of platforms known by customers, perceived security strength and transaction success rates, aggregated using various weightings.
The following form a cross-section of customer responses on desired improvements to user experience, per bank, according to the index.
For Access Bank Plc, the customers said USSD banking should have better security and be made more reliable. They also stated that the lender should: Improve reversals and resolving refunds on incomplete transactions and provide user guides, while they expect Diamond Bank Plc to ensure a more reliable transactions; reduce service charges and be more user friendly.
For Ecobank Nigeria Ltd, the customers said the lender should enthrone more security measures and ensure that its mobile app should be easier to use, even as they improve speed of transactions.
Fidelity Bank Plc should improve on the user interface and and make the enrollment procedure less cumbersome said respondents. They also want the lender to improve the speed of processing transactions.
For First Bank of Nigeria Ltd, the customers expect integration of a transaction failure complaint option; an improvement in inter-bank transfer services and an improved security against scams.
GTBank Plc should improve customer service or make resolution of issues easier via a more interactive platform; enhance notification process particularly for receiving alerts on time; reduce the cumbersome processes of transactions and reduce the rate/level of system down time.
Stanbic IBTC, according to the customers, should improve Encryption and firewall as well as improve customer service, while Union Bank should work on efficiency and security; voice recognition option for security and improve user interface.
UBA, they said, should give more instructions on mobile banking; improve the speed of processing transactions and train their support staff to bridge the IT knowledge gap; while their expectations on Zenith Bank are: reduction in service charges; an effective or improved customer service and speed of transactions.
According to the agency, “We note that commercial banks must pragmatically address customer concerns as highlighted in the survey, particularly in view of the pace of evolution of digital banking. These include security concerns, customer service and timely transaction success rates. Furthermore, as revealed by the survey, a significant portion of respondents receive phishing/bogus emails portraying to be their banks.
“In our opinion, Nigerian banks must further augment customer awareness campaigns on identifying phishing emails/SMS and how to avert being victims of same. Marked strides in deepening customers’ use of digital platforms is critically contingent on improved perceived security, and indeed actual safety when performing transactions.”
The agency emphasized that its Banking Satisfaction Index, comprising a survey and a scorecard, examines customers’ preferences and attitude towards digital banking platforms hosted by their respective banks.
A focus group of respondents were drawn from the formal and informal sector segments of the economy. Respondents were sampled from various geopolitical regions within Nigeria including the South-West, South-East, South-South, North-Central and North-West regions.
Respondents were also a combination of students, self-employed and employed customers of various commercial banks in Nigeria. The data collection technique used was a questionnaire designed to gain insight into the behavioural pattern of the sample population.
The survey focused on issues around service quality and ease of carrying out transactions.
The questionnaire comprised of multiple choice, closed and open ended questions. The questionnaire was administered both electronically and physically, thus encouraging a wider pool of respondents across the country.
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