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BrandsEye has released its South Africa Banking Sentiment Index 2020, which reveals how consumers feel about the country’s large retail banks.
The index is based on a collection of more than 2.5 million social media posts about local banks, between September 2019 and August 2020.
the customer service and experience solution The provider uses topic analytics to measure post sentiment (positive or negative), across 70 topics and seven broad categories including reputation, customer service, pricing, and customer retention.
The net index score is determined by subtracting negative sentiment from positive sentiment.
New market entrants, TymeBank and Discovery Bank, were included in the 2020 report, although the opinion on Bank Zero was not taken into account as the bank has yet to be officially launched.
In terms of overall net sentiment, South Africans were overwhelmingly negative on local banks this year, with only one bank scoring positive overall.
The negative sentiment was fueled by complaints about customer service and confusion over coronavirus relief measures implemented by banks, in a year in which digital came into the limelight as the main channel through the which customers had to do their banking.
What South Africans Think About Banks
African Bank achieved a positive sentiment score for 2020.
“In its first year of being included in the index, African Bank achieved the highest net sentiment. It also received nearly four times more purchase inquiries from potential customers, relative to the industry average, ”said BrandsEye.
“Demand for African Bank’s products was mainly focused on loans. More than half of these requests arose as a result of the bank’s successful advertising. In particular, loans that offer small sums to ‘help consumers through tough times.’
Discussions about the African Bank’s turnaround since its 2016 restructuring also added to the positive sentiment, BrandsEye said, including the positive role Chief Executive Officer Basani Maluleke played in this.
Capitec Bank received the lowest negative sentiment score, followed by TymeBank, Standard Bank, Nedbank, Absa, FNB, and Discovery Bank.
Capitec it remained the most consistent incumbent bank, BrandsEye said. Despite its negative score in 2020, it remains the incumbent with the highest net sentiment score, driven in large part by its affordability.
Working against the bank in 2020 was the negativity around the reliability of its new banking app, downtime cases, and other struggles in the digital space, particularly in a year in which digital banking was amplified due to the coronavirus.
Nedbank suffered a 33-point drop in his score. This was largely due to reputational damage caused by allegations that the pricing of their home loans to black clients was seen as racist.
This was published through a court case in February, awarding a client R2 million to cover lost earnings. Other customers shared similar experiences.
However, despite this big fall for Nedbank, it is Discovery Bank which carries the lowest sentiment among South Africans.
“Discovery Bank was the worst performer in the industry. It faced significant operational emissions more than a year after its launch. The complaints were driven by a combination of low consumer confidence and poor customer service, ”said BrandsEye.
An event in which Discovery Bank customers’ accounts suddenly reflected a zero balance, as well as security concerned about not needing a CVV number to make online purchases, eroded trust in the bank.
The sentiment around customer service brought the most negativity.
“Customers reported having to contact multiple contacts at the bank for a response and waiting a long time for help. This led the bank to hang the worst response rate to social media inquiries, suggesting that it lacks the necessary capacity to serve its customers, ”said BrandsEye.
Other banks:
- TymeBank Benefited from a smaller customer base and less complex offering, it faced fewer problems. The report cited its response rate to inquiries as poor.
- Absa It largely went unnoticed by any major mishap on social media, suffering overall negative banking sentiment. However, their response rate was exceptionally poor, with two-thirds of priority complaints and inquiries left unanswered, BrandsEye said.
- Standard bench It received backlash for its coronavirus relief measures, as well as customer complaints about the lack of response to inquiries.
- FNB it suffered the most from negative sentiment towards its coronavirus relief measures and had the highest number of cancellation threats.
Impact of Covid-19
The generally negative sentiment towards banks this year can be attributed to the average or poor response of banks to the Covid-19 crisis, in terms of relief offered to customers, as well as the lack of digital and online support for banks. customer inquiries. .
As more bank customers were forced to connect and to digital channels, banks came under pressure to address all the support inquiries that flooded their timelines.
BrandsEye said that two trends emerged in the analysis of Covid-19 and South African banks:
- Consumers weighed which bank contributed the most in terms of relief options, such as pay vacations, loans, and social responsibility efforts; Y
- The ability of banks to assist clients in a timely and effective manner during the closure came under intense scrutiny.
FNB was widely criticized on social media for having a confusing aid scheme, with many calling it an additional loan product, causing the biggest impact on trust.
In terms of customer service, response rates through social media increased, but given the volume, many banks were unable to respond to inquiries on time. Discovery Bank had the lowest priority response rate, adding to its negative sentiment score.
An assessment of social media posts made during the lockdown found that nearly half of the conversations within the banking industry focused on aid measures implemented by banks.
Some clients thanked banks for the ‘pay holidays’ for clients, while others claimed that banks took too long to offer relief or did not offer comprehensive enough benefits. Consumers frequently compared banks’ offers in this regard.
The data also shows that consumers proactively petitioned banks for an exemption from loan repayments and also observed how banks treat their staff.
Read: These are some of the biggest bank complaints South Africans have during the coronavirus lockdown
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