Capitec named best digital bank

Columinate has released its sixth annual internet banking SITEisfaction survey. The survey measured customer satisfaction with digital banking services in South Africa. Capitec Bank came out tops in the in the digital banking and mobile banking categories. However, First National Bank (FNB) held onto the top spot in the internet banking category.

The best digital bank

To keep up with the growing use of technology in our everyday lives, the major banks in South Africa have developed digital applications to meet growing customer demand. In the best digital bank category, Columinate evaluates the consumer satisfaction of the banks’ online and mobile banking offering as a whole.

Capitec pushed FNB out of the top spot to secure the best digital bank category with a score of 81 out of 100. Francois Viviers, executive of marketing and communications at Capitec Bank, said: “Our aim has always been to design smart, simple and easy to use digital solutions that fit in to your life, while saving you time and money. We’re both excited and grateful to our clients for scoring us so highly, securing Capitec’s position as South Africa’s Best Digital Bank 2017. This is testament to our vision of helping our clients to bank better, and live better.”

FNB scored 79 in this category, while Nedbank and Standard Bank tied for third place with 61. Absa reportedly saw improvements from last year, but still only scored 55 in this category.

Elna Pretorius, co-founder and director at Columinate, revealed: “From a digital perspective, Capitec has always been a strong challenger to FNB. Its efforts have finally paid off this year as its customers rated their satisfaction of the bank’s service offering higher than that of its competitors. While Standard Bank has experienced some fluctuations in the level of its digital banking satisfaction levels over the last three years due to various redesigns and service outages, Nedbank has yet to shift the needle, as the bank continues to offer a middle-of-the-road solution and experience, according to its customers.”

The best mobile bank

In the best mobile bank category, offerings such as mobile applications and mobi-sites for mobile phones and tablets are looked at. Again, Capitec beat FNB by only a few points to take the top position. Capitec achieved an 11 point increase over last year’s score with 83 points out of 100. FNB came out with 80 points, followed by Nedbank with 71 points an increase from last year’s 66 points. Standard Bank achieved 70 points, while Absa scored five points lower than last year with 65 points.

According to Pretorius, there is increased opportunity for banks to offer a more rounded mobile banking solution to customers. “Not only can banks save their customers the inconvenience of a trip to the branch through making better use of the mobile app, these financial institutions can also offer their customers a more inclusive and empowered experience.”

Increase in fraud victims

According to Columinate, instances of fraud have been at their lowest in the last few years. Forty six percent of the consumers surveyed said they had experience an incident of fraud.. However, the number of consumers falling victim to fraudsters has increased to 19% in 2017.

“There are several factors that can impact this score; for starters, 23% of consumers report that they are not the only users of the internet banking account, with 82% reporting that they share their credentials with a partner or spouse, and a further 10% admit their credentials are shared with their children or parents. Multiple users on a single account can dramatically impair the integrity of that account, and this solution to a short-term annoyance may well prove to be a hindrance for long-term security,” revealed Columinate.

Furthermore, consumers appear to lack knowledge, understanding and awareness of the potential scams out there, including phishing scams, SIM swap scams and the 419 scam.

“There is a massive opportunity for banks to broaden their product offering via their digital channels for the convenience and enjoyment of their customers. But equally, if not more importantly, the onus is on the banks to elucidate their customers on the threats they face when engaging with the bank online, from spoofed websites, to key loggers, to data-stealing malware – the banks have to take responsibility for educating their customers, or at the very least, develop a product or solution that could protect these users should they fall victim to the inevitable crime – it’s not just a nuisance to the customer, or an inconvenience to the bank, it’s a practice that impacts the entire South African economy,” stated Pretorius.

Handy tip: You can compare bank accounts on Justmoney here.