Classy service: DBS Bank CEO Piyush Gupta (right) and chief financial officer Chng Sok Hui at a news conference in Singapore. The bank led the survey in customer satisfaction with 75.9 points from a possible 100 and was followed Citibank (75.1). — Bloomberg
SINGAPORE: Customer satisfaction with the finance sector in the city-state has increased amid steps by banks to boost their online banking security, while there is less interest in newcomer digital banks.
These findings were part of a national study on customer satisfaction released on Tuesday that Singapore Management University’s Institute of Service Excellence (ISE) conducts quarterly and annually.
The Customer Satisfaction Index of Singapore measures satisfaction across six key sectors in the service industry, including tourism, retail, land transport, and food and beverage.
The finance sector’s score improved by 0.9% year on year (y-o-y) in the fourth quarter of 2022, rising to 75.5 points out of a possible 100.
A total of 4,700 local consumers were surveyed between October 2022 and January 2023 regarding the finance and insurance sectors.
Within the finance sector, the banks’ sub-sector scored 75.6 points, up 1% y-o-y, while the credit cards sub-sector scored 73.8 points, a 0.9% increase. But e-payment apps fell by 1.8%, scoring 75.6 points.
Among the banks, DBS led in customer satisfaction with 75.9 points. It was followed by Citibank with 75.1 points and OCBC and UOB, which both scored 75.
The survey found that customer perceptions of quality were driven by considerations of whether banks had their best interests at heart and whether products and services were available when customers wanted them.
ISE executive director Neeta Lachmandas said on Tuesday that steps recently taken by financial institutions to boost digital banking security have resulted in positive sentiment among customers.
For example, Singapore banks in 2022 removed clickable links in SMSes and rolled out an emergency self-service “kill switch” that lets customers freeze their accounts.
These were part of industrywide measures introduced after a spate of SMS phishing scams targeting bank customers.
But banks will need to continue to show that they put their customers’ best interests first amid issues such as digital disruptions, said Lachmandas.
In March, DBS set up a special board committee to investigate a disruption that left customers unable to access digital banking services. It was the bank’s second incident in 16 months.
Lachmandas said these incidents are part and parcel of the shift towards digital banking.
“As long as the banks respond in a very serious way, they communicate well with their customers, and the customers feel that their best interests are being put first, then we should expect to see that the banks will continue to do well,” she told The Straits Times.
ISE’s study also found that physical banking services are still important to customers, even as 75.5% of them recently used digital channels.
On average, each customer recently interacted with three unique bank touchpoints, including ATMs, bank branches and mobile apps.
Customers aged 18 to 34 accessed these touchpoints to a similar degree as older customers.
A higher proportion of younger customers, 12.2% in 2022 compared with 7.4% in 2021, also consulted personal bankers and relationship managers.
Meanwhile, satisfaction with e-payment apps, including those offered by incumbent banks and non-banking e-wallets such as GrabPay and FavePay, dipped y-o-y across all age groups.
Those aged 18 to 34 were the least happy with these apps, with a satisfaction score of 74.2 points.
They had poorer perceptions of the apps’ branding and user experience, as well as the variety of merchants that accept the app.
Customers were also, on the whole, less willing to try digital banks.
GXS Bank and Trust Bank, which cater to retail customers and operate entirely online, made their debuts in 2022. Interest in digital banks has faded, especially among customers aged 18 to 34 and those 60 and older. — The Straits Times/ANN
