SA`s top banks have been edged out in the popularity stakes by smaller groups - among them shaky start-up 20Twenty - in an online banking survey conducted via ITWeb.
The survey, by BlueRiverStone, was conducted among ITWeb readers. The results show that 20Twenty is by far the most popular online bank, while Nedbank ranks as the worst in terms of online banking.
The survey asked respondents to rate online banks in terms of services offered, ease of site navigation, response to online queries, current information and site speed, among other things.
Nearly a third of the respondents rate 20Twenty as the best overall, despite the fact that the service`s parent, Saambou Bank, went into curatorship last year. 20Twenty now offers a limited range of services, but has lost only 6% of its clients. The online bank is rated far higher than all other online banking services, with 32.85% saying it is the best online bank, only 2.3% saying it is the worst and 42% of people who bank elsewhere saying they think 20Twenty offers better service.
Trailing far behind 20Twenty, but best of the 'big banks` is Standard Bank`s online offering, with 17.5% of respondents rating it as the best and 19.53% rating it as the worst. Around 52% of Standard Bank`s current clients think other banks are giving better service.
Standard Bank Internet banking marked its 250 000-customer milestone last month. The group plans to upgrade its Internet banking service later this year, to enhance navigation and improve site speed.
Absa`s online banking offering is in third place with 16.4% of respondents saying it offers the best service. However, 21.4% rate it as the worst and 23.6% of respondents who are current Absa clients feel some other bank offers better service. Absa claims 389 000 Internet banking customers, and says its Internet banking transaction values stood at R121 billion by February.
Nedbank and FNB/eBucks trail behind Standard Bank. Only 12.8% of respondents rate Nedbank as the best online banking service and 10.2% rate FNB/eBucks as best. Nedbank is rated as by far the worst, with 24.19% of respondents giving it the thumbs down, and 52.5% of respondents who are Nedbank clients think another bank`s online service is best.
The FirstRand Group`s e-commerce venture, eBucks.com, which the group describes as a sound success, has over 129 000 active Internet bankers conducting over R4.1 billion in transactions over the Internet every month. Survey respondents rate FNB`s online offerings as the second-worst online, with 22.79% of the vote, and 17.24% of respondents who bank with FNB/eBucks feel another bank`s online offering is better.
Bringing up the rear in the 'best online bank` vote are: Investec (5.84%), IcanOnline (2.92%), Bank of America (0.36%), BoE Bank (0.36%), NBS (0.36%) and Royal Bank of Canada (0.36%).
More than 70% of the respondents claim to have compared different banks` online services, with 53% saying their own bank`s online service is better than others.
For more detailed diagrams of the survey results, click here.
[DIAGRAM]
Diagram4 Evaluation dimensions - Profile of banks by their means on dimensions assessed
Related stories:
20Twenty battles on
Ebucks.com, FirstRand Group`s e-commerce venture, proves strong success
Upgrade for Standard Bank Internet Banking
Share
