South African banks are not fully exploiting their digital channels in light of the fact that the vast majority of SA's online community uses the Internet to execute banking tasks.
This is according to a recent Internet banking survey by online market research firm Columinate, which conducted research aimed at assessing the Internet banking habits of users, and the general levels of satisfaction with regards to banks' online offerings. According to another survey, conducted in 24 countries globally, about 75% of South Africans bank online.
Some 1 353 Internet banking users took part in Columinate's survey, which is the first in its “SITEisfaction” series - aimed at gauging Web site satisfaction across various industries. According to the research company, users' responses as to the overall satisfaction with their respective banks' online services revealed there was substantial room for improvement. The banking industry's overall score was “an unexceptional 55”.
Within the SITEisfaction Internet banking index locale, big four bank First National Bank (FNB) trumped its counterparts, obtaining a score of 68. While relative newcomer Capitec beat FNB's score by two points, Columinate says the number of Capitec customers included in the survey did not reach the minimum sample size to be included as a contender for “winner” of its Internet banking SITEisfaction. However, says Columinate co-founder and senior research specialist Henk Pretorius, Capitec's top score is a “clear indicator that the bank is worth watching as a “rising star” among SA's Internet banking solution providers”.
Columinate measured overall satisfaction in terms of two broader aspects, namely “drivers of satisfaction” and “outcomes of satisfaction”. Within these categories, customers rated information and functional quality, ease of use, communication and assurance, innovation, trust, loyalty and willingness to recommend.
Top trends
In examining these characteristics, Columinate also garnered statistics that delineate users' online banking behaviour, including mainstream activity within digital channels. Topping the list of uses of Internet banking were basic transactional and non-transactional activities, with 88% of respondents using Internet banking primarily for viewing balances and making beneficiary payments.
Next most popular activities include accessing bank statements (72%), making inter-account transfers (66%) and setting up recurring beneficiary payments (53%). More than half of those surveyed (53%) use their bank's portal to purchase airtime, while a marginal 5% make use of online share trading or foreign exchange services.
Frequency-wise, 37% of Internet banking customers log in to their banking profiles two to six times per week, but the majority of users (85%) spend less than 20 minutes logged in. A minority of 14% said they engage with their banks via social media platforms; 92% of this fraction using Facebook, 27% Twitter and 12% LinkedIn.
Pretorius says the findings point to a significant opportunity for South African banks to forge better digital connections with their customers, via both their Internet banking and social networking channels. He says banks should capitalise on its digital channels to better connect digitally with their customers, who currently use the electronic medium for little more than basic banking functions.
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