Out of the ten biggest Nigerian banks by assets, Sterling, FCMB and Fidelity are the least in terms of digital banking satisfaction, according to the 2020 Consumer Digital Banking Satisfaction Index by a credit rating agency, Agusto & Co.
Judged by factors like the ease of navigation, range of services available on the platforms, level of awareness, perceived security strength and transaction success rates, Agusto & Co’s ranking of the commercial banks was determined by the responses from their customers.
“These factors were embedded in the survey questions administered, and then aggregated using various weightings, with responses benchmarked to expected performance indicators developed by Agusto & Co. score categories,” Agusto & Co said.
Analysis of the third annual edition of the Agusto & Co Consumer Digital Banking Satisfaction Index reveals that Sterling Bank was at the bottom on the list with an overall user experience score of 55.4 points. Out of 100 points, Fidelity Bank and FCMB recorded 58.4 and 65.8 points, respectively.
Read Also: Additional cost for lenders as CBN plans N10bn fund to save struggling banks
Meanwhile, Guaranty Trust Bank and Firstbank were the best digital banks in Nigeria with a user experience score of 74.2 and 72.3 points.
“Gtbank’s top position was underpinned by comparably higher transaction success rates, is most crucial in the current ‘COVID-ERA’,” research analysts at the rating agency said.
According to the report, the Bank’s position was also upheld by the significant level of awareness of its digital banking services compared to the other nine banks in the survey sample.
While Zenith Bank was the highestranked bank in the 2019 edition, with a score of 74.2, the lender dropped to the 4th position this year (a score of 70.9) due to lower ratings in transaction success rates and troubleshooting & IT support.
The report by Agusto & Co revealed that the COVID-19 pandemic drove the increase in the use of digital channels and created an opportunity to grow transaction income across the various platforms.
In addition to benefits to commercial banks, the report revealed that the pandemic also provided digital banks with an avenue for growth. The survey also indicates that only 46 percent of the survey respondents are aware of digital banks.
“We believe findings from this Index will provide good insights and suggestions to enhance the customer experience,” the rating agency said, adding that it believes there is a need for more dedicated investments in customer service and relationship management to support growing traffic across digital banking channels.
To increase customers’ satisfaction, the three banks that ranked the least in the digital banking satisfaction index were advised by the 2020 report to do the following.
Sterling bank
The lender was advised to reduce the downtime experienced on the banking platforms. It also advised the commercial bank to see the “need for customer service outside of the banking hall.”
FCMB Ltd
Prompt resolution of customer complaints was the first issue the 2020 Consumer Digital Banking Satisfaction Index report by Augusto & Co. pointed for FCMB to look into.
“The services should be more reliable,” it said, adding that the lender should “reduce the application downtime. Please include a card request option on the platforms.”
Fidelity bank
According to the report, Fidelity bank needs to improve “the application’s speed” to give its customers more digital banking satisfaction.
