Standard Chartered emerges top in KBA survey on digital banking

Standard Chartered Bank has emerged as the winner in a survey that was conducted by the Kenya Bankers Association (KBA). KBA conducted the survey to gauge Kenyan bank’s adoption of digital banking.

Most bank clients preferred the use of fully automated platforms while accessing banking services, according to the Kenya Bankers Association (KBA) Customer Satisfaction Survey 2020. The survey obtained feedback from over 15,000 respondents, with 3% of the respondents representing people with disabilities.

The report indicates that bank clients opted for contactless banking channels to reduce the possibility of infection with COVID-19 through currency and bank branch visits, further noting that the need for human interface in customer service diminished significantly in 2020 compared to 2019.

Only 16% of the survey respondents reported the need to visit their bank branches or contact call centers to transact or obtain customer support.

According to the report from the survey, most age groups surveyed reported preference for automated services while interacting with banks, with the exception respondents above 70 years, who indicated their preference for human-assisted services to access banking solutions.

From the findings, 81% of People living With Disabilities (PWDs) were largely able to use banking services independently. Meanwhile, 8% of the clients always needed support, with 11% occasionally requiring assistance.

More than 70% of the respondents cited convenience and efficiency as their main features of interest, with ease of usage and friendliness of user interface being the other critical factors. In addition, respondents based their preference on security, highlighting log-in security as a major feature that influenced their use of the platforms.

Speaking during a virtual release of the survey findings, KBA CEO Dr. Habil Olaka said, “Besides making banking premises safe for customers, banks had to consciously encourage other, contactless forms of interaction, as much as possible. Most importantly, banks, under the leadership of the Central Bank of Kenya and the Kenya Bankers Association, instituted a number of measures to cushion customers against the adverse effects of the pandemic. These included restructuring of loans in excess of Ksh 1 trillion and removal of charges on transactions, besides heightening surveillance against fraud.”