Oral East Africa
The currency of mobile banking is quality service as lenders fight for market share in a new era of brand disloyalty.
According to the Kenya Bankers Association (KBA) 62 percent of Kenyans operate more than one bank account a 5 percent increase from last year's survey, meaning banks no longer command brand loyalty that saw the older generation maintain a single account throughout their lives.
Instead lenders now have to fight for market share by offering the most valued attribute online, customer obsession. Respondents told the banking lobby, the need to access a variety of high-quality services is the main reason for having multiple banking relationships.
This has meant lenders have to review their mobile offering to give customers the best experience at their most convenience and at an affordable cost.
Customer obsession
Kenya Bankers Association survey allowed banks to review how they are doing in terms of customer obsession.
Family Bank was voted as the best tier two bank and overall third-best bank in customer satisfaction and digital banking experience in a 2023.
Family Bank has maintained the position as the best tier two bank for the fourth year running and has been voted among the overall best bank in customer satisfaction and digital experience.
The 2023 survey obtained over 30,000 responses countrywide showed that channels leveraging on technology emerged to be the most preferred banking channels with mobile banking emerging top with 70 percent and online/internet banking at 24.6 percent.
“Digital transformation continues to be our key focus as a Bank. This is to create convenience for our customers by providing them with personalized products that meet their changing needs,” said Family Bank Chief Operations Officer John Ndugi.
Automation
The survey further noted that bank customers’ preference for fully automated or self-service modes including mobile, internet and chatbots when accessing banking services continues to be a key area of interest with 45percent of respondents preferring this mode of interaction while an increase to 16.5 percent of the respondents preferring human-assisted service including call centers and branches.
Digital banking has leveled the playfield for lenders allowing even small tier banks to compete with larger ones in a space where geographical cost is no longer a barrier.
This has seen increased investment in digital solutions by smaller lenders who are giving more boutique solutions to customers and winning the fight of customer obsession online.
However, despite the spread of digital banking, KBA survey still showed physical is still an integral part of the banking experience with respondents still preferring a physical experience for some services.
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