Kenyan banks get high ranking in global survey

By MACHARIA KAMAU

NAIROBI, KENYA: Despite encountering numerous service related problems with banks, Kenyan consumers are still confident in the local banking industry.

A new report shows that while Kenyans have the highest incidence of problems reported when doing banking transactions, they remain confident in their banking industry.

The Ernst & Young 2014 Global Consumer Survey showed that 55 per cent of Kenyans had within the past year experienced at least one problem with their banks. Reported problems included being charged fees that had not been explained to them or not being able to access their funds. Despite the challenges faced by the Kenyan banking consumer, the country was still ranked the second most confident market after Nigeria and ahead of South Africa.

The survey indicated that Africa confidence level had over the last year increased most in Nigeria where 69 per cent of the banking customers were confident of their industry, followed by Kenya (66 per cent) and South Africa (33 per cent).

The rise in confidence level is largely driven an increase in access to financial services through alternate channels, as well as market stability in the local banking industry. Kenyan banks have increasingly employed different methods, including integrating their platforms with mobile money services, as well as use of agency baking to bring services close to customers.

BANK CUSTOMERS GLOBALLY

“Kenyan banks need to improve their efficiency when it comes to problem resolution with more than half of customers in Kenya having experienced a problem in the 12 months prior to the survey, compared to approximately one third of bank customers globally,” said the report titled Winning through Customer Experience.

“Although customers in Kenya have the highest incidence of problems reported, they are more likely to be very satisfied with the resolution (33 per cent).” The high confidence of local bank customers mirrors what has been taking place globally, where the report notes consumer confidence in the banking industry is on the rise.

The survey involved 32,000 customers across the world. In Africa, it surveyed customers from Kenya, Nigeria and South Africa.

Steve Osei-Mensah, Ernst & Young’s Advisory Leader for Financial Services in East and Central Africa said banks needed to focus on important aspects of the customer experience. He noted that high levels of trust would enable the industry to attract and retain customers as well as create genuine loyalty.

“Customers’ experience is the main driver of trust and is also the single most common reasons that customers open and close accounts globally; but customers in Africa also place greater importance on ways to save money, mobile banking features, reputation and protecting their financial information,” he said.

Kenyans also want banks to provide plans that will help them grow investments and reach their financial goals. The survey shows 86 per cent of Kenyans want banks to enable them access financial experts, compared to 78 per cent in Africa.